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. A sticking point for Rangel -- who hitherto has adamantly insisted on a "clean" bill coming out of Congress -- is the opportunity cost of using the tax cuts offsets the Senate is likely to approve, an issue we have flagged: We started off with no package, so trying to negotiate between zero and $8 billion is very difficult, to do it in an honest way. But we'll let it mature over there... $8 billion is a lot of money, and the pay-fors--I don't want to lose that either."