From Yahoo News
By Jim Kuhnhenn

The Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday to boost the federal minimum wage by $2.10 to $7.25 an hour over two years, but packaged the increase with controversial tax cuts for small businesses and higher taxes for many $1 million-plus executives.

The increase in the minimum, the first in a decade, was approved by a 94-3 vote, capping a nine-day debate over how to balance the wage hike with the needs of businesses that employ low-wage workers.

A top priority of Democrats, the wage hike has both real and symbolic consequences. It would be one of the first major legislative successes of the new Democratic-controlled Congress.

“Passing this wage hike represents a small but necessary step to help lift America’s working poor out of the ditches of poverty and onto the road toward economic prosperity,” said Sen. Edward Kennedy D-Mass.

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