“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced”
~James Baldwin

In mid-January, the US Senate attempted to pass a clean version of a bill to raise the minimum wage for the first time in a decade. The Republicans filibustered and the bill ended up passing in the Senate (94-3) at the end of January with $8.3 billion in tax breaks for businesses.( S.2, S.347 ) It would still be sitting, the victim of filibuster if the Democrats had not compromised, because although the Democrats have a majority, the bill needed to pass with 60% approval and they couldn’t secure enough Republican votes. The bill is now before the House of Representatives (H.R.2* ) who will likely have to work with the Senate on a compromise since all tax changes have to originate in the House.