Senate Votes Down Minimum Wage Amendment to Bankruptcy Bill

The Senate voted down an amendment to the Bankruptcy Bill today that would increase the minimum wage by $2.10.

The amendment was proposed by Massachusetts Democrat Sen. Edward Kennedy who stated that "raising the minimum wage is critical to preventing the economic freefall that often leads to bankruptcy."

The amendment was voted down mainly because Republican Senators want to see the bill remain essentially unchanged.  Last week, leaders in the House of Representatives stated that they would move the Bill quickly if it remains fundamentally the same as written. 

Debate on the bill is expected to come to an end this week. However, a familiar amendment Republicans have called the “poison pill” is still expected to come up. This amendment would prohibit abortion clinic protestors from filing bankruptcy to get out of court-ordered fines.  It was tacked onto a similar bankruptcy bill last session and is said to be the cause of the bill’s failure to pass.