Collins says she wants compromise on minimum wage bill

WASHINGTON — Moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins says she expects to oppose the Democratic effort to raise the federal minimum wage, all but dooming the election-year proposal.

That election-year bill, on which the Senate is expected to vote Wednesday, would raise the current $7.25 hourly minimum to $10.10 over 30 months. It will need GOP votes to overcome a procedural blockade by most Republican senators, who say the measure would be too costly for employers.

Collins told a reporter Tuesday that about a dozen senators of both parties have expressed interest in finding a compromise with her but haven’t reached consensus on a plan. She also said she believes Democrats won’t let her try to amend their bill, which she said would mean she’d vote against it.

“It’s obvious the votes aren’t there for $10.10,” she said, adding, “It seems clear to me that politics is trumping concern for low-income workers.”

Earlier, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said it was GOP opponents who were showing they don’t care.

“Do we believe it’s fair that fellow Americans who work full-time should be paid less than a livable wage?” he said on the Senate floor. “I hope not.”

Democrats are hoping that even in defeat, the fight will help them attract voters in November’s congressional elections by casting Republicans as uninterested in helping struggling families. Republicans say the priority should be passing legislation that would create jobs.

Democrats will need support from at least five Republicans when the Senate votes on whether to consider the bill. Only one — Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn. — has publicly said he is likely to vote that way.

Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., will miss Wednesday’s vote because he is in his home state in the aftermath of powerful storms there, an aide said. Pryor, in a tough re-election race, had already expressed his opposition to the Democratic bill, saying $10.10 would be too high.

: Republican Sen. Susan Collins says she won’t support the minimum wage bill being considered by the U.S. Senate unless there’s a compromise. But she said that Democrats won’t allow any amendments — which will essentially doom the bill.