This afternoon, after almost two weeks of floor debate and 200 filed amendments, the Senate passed S.2, the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, by a vote of 94-3. The bill comprises:

• a set of increases in the federal minimum wage to be phased in in three stages, rising to $5.85 an hour 60 days after enactment, then to $6.55 an hour one year after that, and $7.25 an hour two years later

The Senate is scheduled to vote on the minimum wage package today at 2:30 PM...but now's a good time to check out Max Sawicky's erudite take on the unnecessary tax cuts attached to the minimum wage bill. One key passage on the tax cuts, AKA the Small Business and Work Opportunity Act of 2007 (SBWOA):

The Senate debate on S.2, the Minimum Wage bill, is all over but the shouting. Doing most of the shouting at this point is Sen. John Kyl (R-AZ), who is merely delaying the inevitable by insisting on floor votes -- expected today -- on up to six amendments, most relating to small business expensing and depreciation treatment of leasehold, restaurant, and retail space improvements.

In an interview with BNA($) yesterday, House Ways and Means chair Charles Rangel (D-NY) indicated a willingness to consider a compromise on the $8.3 billion tax cut package the Senate seems certain to attach to its version of the minimum wage bill. As noted below, on Jan. 10 the House passed H.R. 2, a "clean" wage increase bill that attracted the support of 82 GOP House members. Yesterday, the Senate voted 87-10 to limit debate and amendments on a version of H.R. 2 that contains the $8.3 in small business tax breaks and revenue offsets approved by the Senate Finance Committee Jan. 17.