The Nation : House Panel OKs $5.05 Minimum Wage

The House Education and Labor Committee, in a surprise move, voted to raise the federal minimum wage to $5.05 an hour in several steps over the next four years and to extend federal wage coverage to Congress. Final committee action on an overall bill was put off until next week to give Republicans a chance to propose amendments. The vote to increase the minimum wage to $5.05, instead of the $4.65 voted last week by the House subcommittee on labor standards, was seen as an attempt by supporters of an increase to gain a bargaining chip that would assure a minimum wage of at least $4.65. The vote to extend coverage of the Fair Labor Standards Act to all employees of Congress who are not on the personal staff of a representative means they would be eligible to receive the minimum wage and would be covered by federal overtime law.