On Feb. 1, the U.S. Senate wrapped up nearly two weeks of debate with a 94-3 vote to approve S. 2, the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007. The bill raises the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour by 2009 and extends $8.3 billion of existing small business tax breaks. The fate of the bill remains uncertain because House Democrats are reluctant to provide tax breaks for small business in exchange for passing a minimum wage hike.

The incredible growth in the amount of money spent by the federal government on contractors, with almost no corresponding increase in oversight or management, was highlighted in a recent New York Times article, "In Washington, Contractors Take on Biggest Role Ever." According to the article, the amount spent on federal contracts has doubled since 2000, from $207 billion to $400 billion. The lack of sufficient government oversight has led to a virtual free reign for contractors, who are not answerable to the public and have not been called to account by the federal government.

On Jan. 31, the House cleared a $463.5 billion joint resolution that boosts spending or maintains service levels in health, education and housing programs while staying under a tight budget cap. The resolution also makes $10 billion worth of cuts in 60 programs and eliminates earmark language from bills that were drafted but not passed during the last Congress. If the Senate passes the resolution, the new Congress will finish the FY 2007 budget bills, which the last session of Congress failed to do.