--- description: Republicans in the Senate stopped a bill that would have hiked the federal minimum wage title: Senate Republicans Block Minimum Wage Hike, Democrats to Use in 2014 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2a9f7d146dfa2a74/69868d2d35ba6fae40c01c33/senator-harry-reid.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Congress](/tag/congress/) ## Congress Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Minimum Wage Hike Falls Short in Senate by [Alex Rogers](/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 30, 2014 5:44 PM CUT  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., talks to reporters as Congress returns from a two week recess, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, April 29, 2014\. A long-shot Senate Democratic effort to raise the federal minimum wage seems doomed without needed votes to overcome a procedural blockade by most Republican senators, who say the measure would be too costly for employers. (AP Photo) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., talks to reporters as Congress returns from a two week recess, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, April 29, 2014\. A long-shot Senate Democratic effort to raise the federal minimum wage seems doomed without needed votes to overcome a procedural blockade by most Republican senators, who say the measure would be too costly for employers. (AP Photo)AP by [Alex Rogers](/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 30, 2014 5:44 PM CUT Senate Republicans blocked legislation to raise the federal minimum on Wednesday, an expected outcome that Democrats plan to use as political ammunition in the midterm elections this year. The measure, which would gradually hike the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour, received 54 votes, six shy of what was needed to advance the bill to a final vote. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid voted no as a procedural move allowing him to bring it up for a vote again later. “Millions of American workers will be watching how United States senators vote today,” Reid said a statement before the vote. “They’ll be observing to see if we ensure all full-time workers in this country receive livable wages. “To them, it’s a matter of survival,” Reid added. Democrats have been hammering Republican for months over their refusal to support a minimum wage hike, and it’s been a top priority for President Barack Obama. Republicans say a hike will hurt businesses and cost jobs, and that the focus should be on legislation to create jobs. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office tweeted that Democrats should “drop the tired ideological approach that’s failed so miserably the last five and a half years.” The White House and Senate Democrats are working together on the so-called Raise the Wage strategy, with closely coordinated schedules and social media activities. The President is expected to deliver remarks on the topic Wednesday afternoon, and included a call to raise the minimum wage during his State of the Union address earlier this year. There is widespread public support for raising the minimum wage to $10.10: A [Pew](http://www.people-press.org/2014/01/23/most-see-inequality-growing-but-partisans-differ-over-solutions/ "undefined") poll released in January showed that 71% of independents supported the measure, as well as 53% of Republicans and 90% of Democrats. An early March [Washington _Post_/ABC](http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/poll-democrats-advantage-on-key-issues-is-not-translating-to-a-midterm-election-edge/2014/03/03/455ae6ea-a306-11e3-a5fa-55f0c77bf39c%5Fstory.html "undefined") poll suggested the issue could help Democrats get voters to the polls in a midterm election year that has the party worried about sluggish turnout. Half of all Americans are more likely to back a candidate who supports raising the minimum wage, according to that poll, with only 19 percent saying they would be less likely to vote for such a candidate. But polling experts haven’t seen much of a connection between the Raise the Wage effort and Democrats’ political prospects. On Monday, the [_Post_](http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/04/30/better-numbers-for-obama-but-still-weak-wsjnbc-poll/ "undefined")reported a new poll with Obama’s approval rating at 41%, the lowest of his presidency, and congressional numbers indicating that 2014 could be on par with the 2010 Republican landslide. A [_Wall Street Journal_/NBC](http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/04/30/better-numbers-for-obama-but-still-weak-wsjnbc-poll/ "undefined") poll on Wednesday was slightly better for Obama, showing a 44-41 percent approval-disapproval rate. “Look at Obama’s numbers, the GOP and Democratic numbers…” said Stuart Rothenberg of the eponymous political report. “None of those suggest considerable movement toward Democrats, do they? Of course not.” Asked if she had seen the Democrats’ push to raise the minimum wage affect the polls in any Senate race this year, Jennifer Duffy, a senior editor at the _Cook Political Report_, said she had not. “If it is effective, I don’t think we will see it until the fall,” Duffy said. Pointing to a new anti-minimum wage hike ad campaign that focuses on the Capitol Hill newspapers and D.C. television market, Duffy said: “There is a reason this ad is only airing in DC.” “Voters just aren’t paying attention yet,” she added. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/82867/minimum-wage-senate-republicans-2014/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/82867/minimum-wage-senate-republicans-2014/"},"headline":"Minimum Wage Hike Falls Short in Senate","datePublished":"2014-04-30T17:44:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:35:10.677Z","description":"Senate Republicans stopped a bill that would have hiked the federal minimum wage, drawing preemptive ire from Harry Reid, who plans to use the issue as a cudgel in the midterm elections","url":"https://time.com/82867/minimum-wage-senate-republicans-2014/","keywords":["Congress"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2a9f7d146dfa2a74/69868d2d35ba6fae40c01c33/senator-harry-reid.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alex Rogers","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2a9f7d146dfa2a74/69868d2d35ba6fae40c01c33/senator-harry-reid.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Harry Reid","caption":"Harry Reid","creditText":"AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/congress/","name":"Congress"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/82867/minimum-wage-senate-republicans-2014/","name":"Minimum Wage Hike Falls Short in Senate"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"A History Of The Minimum Wage","description":"See who raised the minimum wage and when throughout history.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/KFNoRaXc/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-02-28T17:21:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/KFNoRaXc.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/82867/minimum-wage-senate-republicans-2014/","duration":"PT3M56S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/82867/minimum-wage-senate-republicans-2014/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```