Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has set up a procedural vote in the Senate for Wednesday to advance a bill hiking the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, a central campaign issue for Democrats ahead of the 2014 congressional elections.
Sixty votes are needed to break a filibuster, and Democrats are unlikely to get there because not a single Republican senator is on board.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), is strongly backed by President Barack Obama. It would phase in the federal minimum wage hike, from the existing $7.25 per house, to $10.10 per hour over three years.
Harkin will be joined by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Al Franken (D-MN) to tout the bill in the Capitol on Tuesday. Democrats have threatened to hold repeated votes on the measure in the event of a Republican filibuster.
