Pension reform hits snag over tax riders

WASHINGTON — Agreement on major pension-overhaul legislation was put on hold late Thursday when House Republicans boycotted a meeting of negotiators, protesting the inclusion of popular tax credits in the bill.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and others said they were still debating whether a package of tax breaks needing renewal should be attached to the bill.

House GOP leaders want to take out the tax breaks so they can be used as a vehicle to push through an estate-tax cut that has so far been rejected by the Senate. Several Senate Republicans involved in the pensions negotiations have stood firm on including the tax measures in the pensions compromise.

House Republicans may relent on wage

House Republican leaders, giving in to political reality, plan a vote to raise the $5.15 minimum wage before leaving Washington this weekend for a five-week recess.

"Whether people like it or not, we need to go ahead with it," said Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., who supports the idea. "There's a general agreement among Republicans [opposing the raise] that 'maybe we don't like it much, but we need to move forward with it just for political reasons.' "

Democrats have made increasing the wage a pillar of their campaign platform and are pushing to raise it to $7.25 per hour over two years. In June, the Republican-controlled Senate refused to raise the minimum wage, rejecting a proposal from Democrats.

Bush acts to extend Voting Rights Act

President Bush on Thursday signed into law a 25-year extension of the Voting Rights Act, the historic legislation that opened up the ballot box to millions of blacks across the South in the 1960s.

Under the legislation, the Justice Department will maintain the authority to review changes in ballot procedures, legislative districts and other electoral rules in a number of states, mainly in the South, to ensure that blacks and other minorities keep their voice in elections.

Also

War protesters will have a new and bigger gathering place when they return in August to President Bush's adopted hometown: a 5-acre lot about 7 miles from Bush's ranch, bought with insurance money Cindy Sheehan received after her son was killed in Iraq.

Compiled from The Associated Press