House clears way for wage hike talks - Yahoo! News

House clears way for wage hike talks - Yahoo! News: "By JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - The House overwhelmingly approved business tax breaks worth $1.8 billion over 10 years on Friday, a key step toward forging a congressional compromise on increasing the minimum wage. The vote on the tax cuts was 360-45. Passage of a wage hike for the lowest-paid workers now depends on how quickly the House and Senate work out differences between their tax packages. The Senate tax breaks — worth $8.3 billion — are more than four times bigger than the ones passed in the House. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (news, bio, voting record), D-Mont., said House and Senate negotiators could reconcile differences in the bills within two or three weeks."