Minimum-wage boost included in Iraq-spending bill

A minimum-wage increase and small-business tax breaks were included in the Iraq-spending bill, HR 1591, which the Senate approved last week. House and Senate negotiators now must hammer out differences between their versions of the legislation. Both chambers already had passed bills earlier this year that would raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour and extend tax relief to small businesses. But those bills, HR 2 and HR 976, differ in how they would fund the tax breaks. Although it’s unclear whether the language from those bills will be included in a final version of the Iraq-spending bill, proponents say they hope its current inclusion moves the debate forward. For a look at the bills, http://thomas.loc.gov