Senate Plans Vote on Minimum Wage Hike

Democrats in the U.S. Senate are planning to vote Wednesday on President Barack Obama's proposal to increase the federal minimum wage.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, would boost the $7.25 hourly minimum to $10.10 over a period of 30 months. The bill also includes plans for automatic annual increases to account for inflation.

Democrats say that if fully implemented by 2016, the law would push a family of three above the federal poverty line.

"Americans understand fairness, and they know it's unfair for minimum-wage workers to put in a full day's work, a full month's work, a full year's work, and still live in poverty," Harkin said Tuesday.

But Republicans are opposed to the bill, saying it would be too expensive for employers and would end up killing jobs.

"This is an emotional issue," CNN quoted Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. "(But) from an economic point of view, if you want to increase the minimum wage you're going to displace probably a million people from the economy at a time when we should be hiring people."

Although a February study by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the wage hike would mean higher income for 16.5 million low-earning people, the agency also estimated the increase could cost about 500,000 jobs.