Although scheduled to consider a cloture vote (motion to end debate) this morning on what has been dubbed the "trifecta" bill, Senate GOP leadership gambled and called a vote last night, August 3. The "trifecta" included a permanent reduction in the death tax, a phased in increase in the minimum wage, and extension of popular tax breaks. A cloture motion to proceed failed on a 56-42 vote, four short of the required 60 votes. The vote was 57-41 but Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) changed his vote to "no" in order to preserve his right to bring the bill up at a later date. Two senators were absent: Sen. Max Baucus' (D-Mont.) nephew was killed in action in Iraq earlier in the week and Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) was busy campaigning to retain his Senate seat in what has become a very nasty primary battle.

Unfortunately, Minority Leader Harry Reid made the procedural vote one of party loyalty. He argued the bill would add billions to the national debt and give wealthy Americans a tax break at the expense of low-income workers. In fact, the bill did not include a full repeal of the death tax (as advocated by NSSGA), but would have exempted most estates worth less than $10 million and lowered the tax rates on estates above that amount. The minimum wage would have been increased from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 over three years. Reid's heavy lobbying outweighed Democrats' long-running call for an increase in the minimum wage hike and extension of popular tax breaks.

Republican Senators George Voinovich (R-Ohio) and Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) were the only Republicans to vote against cloture. Republicans gained the support of Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va), Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) after adding some sweeteners to the package.

After failure of the trifecta, Minority Leader Reid attempted to attach the tax break extenders to the pension reform bill. Majority Leader Frist objected and subsequently the Senate passed the pension bill by an overwhelming majority. NSSGA is evaluating the bill for impacts on the aggregates industry.

The tax breaks expired at the beginning of the year and with the defeat of the trifecta there is no clear route to passage. Reid has vowed to attach the tax extenders to any piece of legislation in September and warned he would object to adjournment of the Senate in the fall if the extenders are not passed.

Thank you to all NSSGA's grassroots who responded to our legislative action alert. Repeal of the death tax has been a top priority of NSSGA and we notified senators early in the week that we were considering the vote on the trifecta a "key vote" for purposes of our voting scorecard. The Senate and House are in recess for the month of August. We urge you to contact your elected officials during the recess. NSSGA has updated our laminated pocket cards, a handy tool for meetings with elected officials and candidates. Please contact Government Affairs if you want additional cards.

SENATE FAILS TO CONFIRM MSHA, USGS NOMINEES