WASHINGTON: US Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a hotly-contested effort to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, a move President Barack Obama vowed to turn to his party's election-year advantage.
A united Democratic front convinced just one Republican, Bob Corker, to back the measure, and with a vote count of 54-42, it failed to earn the 60 votes necessary to overcome blocking tactics and begin debate on the bill.
Democrats hope the emotional issue will propel supporters to the polls in November's mid-term elections, when Obama's party will find itself in a battle to hold the Senate.
Even though the bill had little chance of passing a divided Congress, Democrats seek to capitalize on the effort, painting Republicans as out-of-touch elites unperturbed that those who work 40 hours per week at the current minimum wage of $7.25 still live in poverty.
"They're back in the 19th century saying we shouldn't do this," Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer said.
"We will bring this bill to the floor again and again and again... and sooner or later we will get it done."
Obama, who in February signed an order mandating federal contractors be paid at least $10.10, said the bill's failure "makes no sense."
Republicans have "increasingly failed to do anything when it comes to helping people who work hard to get ahead," the president said.
"If there's any good news here, it's that Republicans in Congress don't get the last word on this issue or any issue. You do, the American people, the voters."
"If your member of Congress doesn't support raising the minimum wage, you've got to let them know they're out of step," he added.
"And then if they keep putting politics ahead of working Americans, you can put them out of office."
Democrats say hiking the wage would benefit 28 million Americans, bring millions out of poverty, ease reliance on federal aid programs, and pump billions of dollars into the economy.
Twenty states already have minimum wages above the federal rate, according to the Department of Labor. Washington state has the highest, at $9.32 an hour.
Republicans, citing the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, argue the move would see companies shed between 500,000 and one million jobs.
Some Republicans support a minimum wage hike but say raising it to $10.10 would be too hefty an increase.
"We all want to see hardworking American families work their way toward the American dream. But we're not going to be able to do that with the federal government setting wages," said Senate Republican John Cornyn.
A fair shot?:
The vote came just as the Republican-controlled House of Representatives held a Budget Committee hearing on progress in the war on poverty, prompting Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to blast the "Republicans' theater of the absurd."
"Republicans have fashioned themselves for years as the defenders of the economy," Reid said before the vote.
"How shocking then that Senate Republicans are not supportive of legislation to increase the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour. What is preventing my Republican colleagues from giving working Americans a fair shot?"
Democrats note the minimum wage has been raised 10 times since the 1930s, most recently during George W. Bush's presidency.
Liberal Senate Democrat Tom Harkin told reporters there was room for compromise with Republicans, but warned against passing legislation that would "trap a full time worker in poverty." "We will not compromise on $10.10," Harkin said.
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