The Bill: H R 5970 (Estate Tax and Extension of Tax Relief Act)
Date Passed: July 29, 1:41 a.m.
About: This bill would raise the federal minimum wage to $5.85/hour by Jan. 1, 2007, $6.55/hour by June 1, 2008, and finally to $7.25/hour by June 1, 2009. It is currently $5.15/hour. (New Jersey’s minimum wage is $6.15/hour, and will increase to $7.15/hour on Oct. 1.)
This bill would also amend the code of the IRS to increase the exemption on the estate tax to $5 million. In other words, any assets handed down upon the death of a family member -- up to $5 million -- would not face this tax.
Some estimate that this tax cut could give around $80 billion a year to 0.3% of the population.
Talk about a cynical political maneuver. House Republicans were able to push through this minimum wage increase by tying it to the tax cut for the rich. Knowing the mainstream press’ general avoidance of economic issues, they were probably hoping that the bill would be portrayed as “the minimum wage bill” rather than the “estate tax bill.” And you know what, from a quick survey of the coverage, they were right.
A few headlines from leading papers:
“House Passes Minimum Wage Increase” (New York Times, 7/29/06)
“House OKs bill increasing federal minimum wage” (San Francisco Chronicle, 7/29/06)
“Minimum Wage Hike Passed By House” (Washington Post, 7/29/06)
The bill now goes to the Senate. Some pundits -- and some Democrats -- think that the House Republicans assume that an estate tax cut has no chance of passing the Senate, and thus they could play working-class hero for a day, without any consequence of alienating their corporate-class supporters.
Whether or not it passes -- or has the ability to pass -- the Senate, it's bad news either way. Sure, a minimum wage increase is not only a good thing to do, but it’s necessary for the well-being of the nation. Someone who makes $5.15/hour and works 40 hours/week for all 52 weeks of a year makes less than $11,000. And that’s before taxes. In most parts of the country, this is quite simply not enough to get by.
This bill passed 230-180. In NJ, one Republican (Garrett) broke ranks and voted against it. One Democrat (Payne) did not vote. Payne was not present, although Kerry McKenney, his press secretary, told City Belt that he probably would have voted no, because the estate tax portion “benefits too few people at a huge expense to the treasury,” although he supports the minimum wage increase.
They Voted For It:
Frank LoBiondo (R-2)
Jim Saxton (R-3)
Christopher Smith (R-4)
Michael Ferguson (R-7)
Rodney Frelinghuysen (R - 11)
They Voted Against It:
Robert Andrews (D-1)
E. Scott Garrett (R-5)
Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-6)
Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-8)
Steven Rothman (D-9)
Rush Holt (D-12)
They Did Not Vote:
Donald Payne (D-10)
Key quotes from NJ’s representatives from the debate on the House floor:
Steven Rothman (D-9):
“To give the working poor a $2.10 increase an hour, [the Republicans] have held us hostage unless we give them $800 billion. Now, they have had 9 years in the majority in the House to have a clean increase in the minimum wage. They never did it. They would not let us do it, because they were in the majority.
They still will not do it. Only if we give the super-rich $800 billion. And American people are not stupid. They do not want a bad deal. They do not want a bad law. They do not want to give into hostage demands. They do not want to give in to extortion. They want an increase in the minimum wage, not another $800 billion gift to the super-rich because the Republican majority does not want to give it in any other way.”
Frank LoBiondo (R-2):
“We don't live in the world of the perfect, and we should not sacrifice the good for the perfect. The reality is, this is the minimum-wage vote. This vote actually has a chance of being signed into law. The reality is that probably a straight minimum-wage vote, that I would have preferred, might have been a good political exercise, but it stood no chance of passage in the Senate or a signature by the President. So if we really want to give relief to working men and women who so deserve this change, this 41 percent change, this is the opportunity.”
Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-8):
“It is shameful that millions of Americans are suffering the economic injustice of working a full-time job and earning a wage that leaves them below the poverty line.
It is unconscionable that we stand here tonight debating provisions on the estate tax and the extension of expiring tax provisions. These provisions only serve as a political ploy to kill any increase to the minimum wage…
As Americans we have always been told that if you have a job, and you work hard, you will have a secure future in our Nation. Yet, millions of Americans who do have jobs and who do work hard everyday have joined the ranks of the working poor…
It is quite simply a slap in the face for working-class Americans.”
How They Voted is a regular City Belt feature breaking down how New Jersey’s congressmen voted on the bills we think are important.
Curious: what was Payne's excuse for not voting?
Posted by: Capt. Jean-Luc Pikachu | 08/01/2006 at 03:03 PM
Not sure about the reasoning, but he just wasn't there, as in, he was not present to cast a vote. Maybe he was sick?
Posted by: Editor | 08/01/2006 at 04:41 PM