In the Senate, two amendments to the Defense Appropriations Bill were defeated that would have raised the minimum wage. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) offered an amendment that would have raised the minimum wage from the current $5.15 to $7.25 over two years: it would have gone from $5.15 to $5.85 beginning 60 days after the legislation was enacted; to $6.55 one year later; and to $7.25 a year after that. The amendment, which needed 60 votes for passage, was defeated 52-46 on Jun. 21.

The other amendment, offered by Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY), would have increased the minimum wage to $6.25 over 18 months and was bundled with a number of other provisions affecting the Fair Labor Standards Act. The amendment was defeated 52-46 and again failed to garner the requisite 60 votes.

In the House, Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) succeeded in attaching a minimum wage hike to the Labor, HHS, and Education Appropriations Bill when his amendment was adopted by the House Appropriations Committee on a 32-27 vote. Because Republican leaders in the House are unsure if they can successfully remove the amendment on the floor, however, House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) is blocking the bill from coming to a floor vote.

Democrats also attempted various parliamentary tricks to add a minimum wage increase to a bill that "reforms" the estate tax, a tax on super-wealthy estates. In each maneuver, Boehner and the GOP majority thwarted them.

In contrast to the GOP leadership, the American public overwhelmingly favors a minimum wage increase. In fact, most Americans would be more likely to vote for a Congressional candidate who favors increasing the minimum wage.

It's easy to understand why a majority of Americans would like to see an increase in the minimum wage. According to a Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analysis:

• The federal minimum wage has remained at $5.15 for nine years.
• Since its last increase in 1997, the minimum wage has lost 20 percent of its value.
• The minimum wage is at its lowest level in terms of purchasing power in fifty years.
• At 31 percent, the minimum wage is at its lowest as a share of the average American wage since 1947.
• It takes a full day of work for a minimum-wage worker to buy a tank of gas.