I posted a similar comment to the rapid reaction diaries, but thought it deserved higher profile:
In the debate tonight, Bush said that he agreed with "Mitch McConnell's bill" to increase the minimum wage. The newspapers and other media so far seem to be at a loss on this issue, for good reason. McConnell's proposal was never actually offered in the Senate, so far as I can tell. More importantly, McConnell's proposal was a trap that would have dismantled overtime pay protections.
Senator McConnell apparently had an amendment drafted as a counter to a likely Democratic (Harkin) amendment on the minimum wage, but he never actually offered it, so there is no public record of what it said.
Based on press reports, McConnell would have raised the minimum wage by a smaller amount than Harkin. But the heart of the story is that McConnell's amendment apparently contained several poison pill provisions that were giveaways to business. For one, he wanted to effectively replace most overtime pay with comptime and flextime provisions.
Basically, the president has now declared his support for what was basically a tactical move to offer an amendment that most Democrats would feel obliged to vote against, so that Republicans could argue that they were supporters of a minimum wage hike without ever actually passing one.
from www.networklobby.org/issues/livingwage.html
"If the Senate votes on S. 2370 as an amendment, Majority Whip Mitch McConnell (R-KY) may offer an alternate minimum wage amendment. This amendment would:
Increase the minimum wage by $1.10, to $6.25 over two years.
Reach 3 million fewer people than S. 2370.
Offer a small business tax package.
It may also include provisions which would diminish workers' rights, such as safety, health standards, overtime pay, flex time, and compensation time."