House GOP leaders say vote on minimum wage now likely

WASHINGTON -- With Democrats plotting to make the minimum wage a major issue in this fall's congressional races, House Republican leaders are conceding that they may have to yield to pressure for an increase to the federal standard, which has been frozen for nearly a decade.

Faced with elections that could cost them control of Congress, John A. Boehner, the House majority leader, acknowledged Thursday that Republican leaders are likely to reverse course and hold a vote on a proposed minimum wage increase. Though Boehner said it was a ``cynical ploy" for Democrats to make it a campaign centerpiece, polls indicate that voters clearly favor an increase in the wage, and Boehner acknowledged that GOP leaders are ``probably going to have to find some way to deal with it."

A week earlier, Boehner, an Ohio Republican, all but ruled out allowing a vote on the matter, saying an increase is ``very bad economic policy."

With firm majorities in both the House and the Senate, Republican leaders rarely change positions in the face of Democratic maneuvering. But a group of GOP moderates told Boehner last week that they believe the House should take up the issue before the midterm elections, to blunt its potential impact at the polls. House leaders haven't allowed a vote on the minimum wage since 1997, the last time it was increased.

A flurry of moves by Democrats in recent weeks has vaulted the minimum wage to the top tier of issues in Washington and in House races across the country. In one maneuver, Senate Democrats this week threatened to block pay raises for all members of Congress until the minimum wage is increased, vowing that low-income workers should see more in their paychecks before their elected representatives do.

In the House, Democrats are trying to attach a minimum-wage increase to any bill they can to force the GOP's hand on an issue that splits their party. Representative Nancy Pelosi -- the minority leader and a California Democrat poised to become House speaker if her party wins this fall -- has pledged to boost the minimum wage on the first day of a Democratic-controlled Congress.

``This issue is a clear winner for Democrats if the Republicans continue to oppose it," said the House minority whip, Steny H. Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat. ``We want to have a change in America. We want to have a focus on working men and women."

Already, Democratic candidates in a range of House races have hammered their Republican opponents over the stalled minimum wage proposal . The issue has been emphasized in economically struggling parts of the country, including working-class districts in Ohio, Pennsylvania, upstate New York, and parts of New England.

``It's a metaphor for the upside-down priorities in Washington, and working Vermonters get that," said Peter Welch, the Democratic candidate for Vermont's lone House seat. ``The minimum wage is a very compelling reason for a Democratic Congress. We have to have a change in leadership to change the priorities."

The federal minimum wage has languished at $5.15 an hour since 1997, and inflation has eroded its value to its lowest level in 50 years, according to independent economic studies. Democrats, led by Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, want to raise the wage to $7.25 an hour, but Republicans who say the increase is a job-killer have used a variety of procedural means to block a straight vote on any such proposal.

Last week, 51 of 100 senators voted for Kennedy's proposal, but the bill failed because Republicans used a parliamentary maneuver that required 60 votes for it to pass.

About a month ago the House Appropriations Committee surprised Republican leaders by including a minimum wage increase in a sweeping spending bill covering healthcare, labor, and education programs. But House leaders have blocked it from reaching the floor for a final vote.

Since the wage hit $5.15 an hour in 1997, members of Congress have seen their pay raised by $31,600, to $165,200 a year. An automatic cost-of-living adjustment will add $3,300 more to their paychecks next year, but Senate Democrats say they won't allow it or any pay increases until the minimum wage goes up.

``We've decided that the only way to catch the attention of the Republican majority in this Congress is to hit them where they live," said the Senate minority whip, Richard J. Durbin, an Illinois Democrat. ``We hope that we will not only send a message to the Republican leadership in Congress about these hard-working families, but that the voters will send a message on November 7th that it's time for change."

Michael Arcuri, the Democratic candidate for a House seat in central New York , is blasting his Republican opponent, Ray Meier, for voting no to a higher minimum wage while in the state Legislature.

``We're a poor district, and there's a lot of people up here who work for the minimum wage," Arcuri said. ``How do you raise a family on the minimum wage where it stands today?"

Polls suggest that a majority of voters support a higher minimum wage. But that doesn't necessarily make it an issue that will motivate voters to cast ballots for Democrats, said Amy Walter, who tracks House races for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

``Is that an issue that alone is going to move a race or put something into play? I really doubt it," Walter said.

Walter said concerns over healthcare, job outsourcing , and retirement security are likely to eclipse the minimum wage as economic issues this fall.

Boehner said no decisions have been made as to how the GOP will handle the issue. Representative Thomas M. Reynolds of New York, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said he sees no need to rush through a minimum-wage increase just to answer the Democrats.