By Deirdre Walsh, CNN Senior Congressional Producer
CNN, February 26, 2014
... House Democrats filed what is known as a "discharge petition" on Wednesday. If they get a majority of members to sign it, Republican leaders must put the Democratic bill increasing the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour on the floor. Even if all 199 House Democrats signed the petition, it would take roughly 18 Republicans to defy their leaders and press for a vote. ...
Even though Congress isn't likely to pass anything this year, a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed that nearly two thirds of those Americans surveyed support boosting the minimum wage. The same poll found 77% of Democrats backed increasing the federal minimum wage level to $10.10 per hour and nearly half of Republicans surveyed also supported raising it to that level. ..
But an event inside the Capitol on Wednesday with business leaders and advocates pushing for a higher wage rate was aimed at voters around the country, not at lawmakers. ...