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The Senate Tuesday approved a Democratic proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $4.55 an hour, setting the stage for a certain veto by President Bush-and a major confrontation with the White House over how far Democrats can push on key social issues.
The 61-39 party-line vote was followed immediately by a 58-41 vote to defeat Bush's own proposal, which would have increased the federal minimum wage to only $4.25 an hour, from $3.35 an hour now. Final Senate passage of the bill, possibly including other amendments, is expected today.
Even so, it appears that the President is likely to emerge victorious in the stand-off. Neither Tuesday's balloting in the Senate nor an earlier House vote on a similar measure produced anywhere near the two-thirds majority that Democrats would need to override a veto.
The margin leaves Democrats with the prospect of either having to accept a scaled-back version of one of their chief domestic programs for this congressional session or winding up with nothing...