The Nation : Senate to Begin Minimum Wage Debate

Senate Democrats invited a showdown with President Bush over the minimum wage, agreeing to take up a House-passed measure the President has repeatedly said he will veto. The Senate debate begins today, and the Democratic leaders hope by week’s end to send to Bush legislation that would raise the minimum wage 30 cents an hour higher than the President has said he will accept. The Democrats’ version also includes a sub-minimum wage for newly hired people that falls far short of a six-month sub-minimum Bush has insisted must be part of the bill. The Senate bill actually due for debate today is one sponsored by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.). His measure would raise the hourly minimum wage from $3.35 to $4.65 by January, 1992, and there would be no provision allowing a lower wage to be paid to new hires. But Kennedy aides said he has decided to offer an amendment making his measure identical to the House bill passed two weeks ago, which has a final target of $4.55 and would allow employers to pay new entrants in the job market a sub-minimum wage for two months.