House Republicans weigh minimum wage hike

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House Republicans worried about their political fate inched toward a vote on Thursday to raise the federal minimum wage for the first time in a decade, but Democrats called it an empty gesture.

Rep. Steven LaTourette, an Ohio Republican active in the negotiations, said the deadlock over the wage hike had been broken.

"The vote to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour over three years will be held tomorrow," he said.

A House leadership aide said a vote was likely, but no firm decision had been made.

The bill that will come before the U.S. House of Representatives will likely be coupled with a controversial small business health plan that could sink the initiative.

Democrats have been pushing to increase the minimum wage, now at $5.15-per-hour, in three 70-cent increments to $7.25 by January 1, 2009. But they have long opposed Republican proposals that would allow small businesses to band together to buy insurance while exempting them from many state regulations.

Critics object to relaxing state restrictions on small business health plans saying that could allow health care providers to avoid covering common and serious diseases like diabetes and breast cancer.

Several moderate Republicans, many facing difficult re-election efforts in November, have joined the minimum wage fight, forcing House Republican leaders to consider an increase they have blocked for years.

LaTourette said 48 Republicans threatened to block the start of summer recess if they did not get a floor vote this week.

Conservative Republicans have argued that raising the minimum wage would hurt workers by prompting businesses to cut entry-level jobs.

"The Democrats believe the minimum wage is too low, and Republicans believe their proposal will help people get insurance, but because of politics both proposals may go nowhere," said Ethan Siegal of The Washington Exchange, a private group that tracks Congress for investors.

Democrats awaited the outcome of negotiations among House Republican lawmakers. But they and organized labor warned against attaching a "poison pill" to minimum-wage legislation.

Rep. George Miller, a California Democrat, accused Republicans of creating the "appearance of being for the minimum wage without changing it."

If the House approves the bill, it then heads to the Senate, which has rejected the House small business health insurance proposal in the past.

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said, "American workers deserve a raise, no strings or roadblocks attached."

About 7 million workers are paid the federal minimum wage, although some states have enacted raises.

Last increased in 1997, Democrats argue that another hike is long overdue, especially with U.S. energy costs skyrocketing.

(Additional reporting by Joanne Kenen and Thomas Ferraro)