On March 7, the Senate voted to kill two amendments to increase the minimum wage attached to the bankruptcy bill (S. 256). One offered by Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 per hour over two years, lost in a close 46–49 vote. The second, proposed by Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), and opposed by progressive groups, was soundly rejected 38–61. Santorum's amendment would have raised the minimum wage by $1.10 over two years to $6.25. Neither got the 60 votes needed to pass.