The House began debating the Democrats' "100 hours" legislative priorities. The four bills would implement the 9/11 Commission's recommendations, raise the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour in three stages over roughly two years, expand stem cell research, and give Medicare officials the authority to negotiate prescription drug prices with drug companies. The Chamber opposes both a hike in the minimum wage and the Medicare drug bill which is backed by AARP.

House Approves Bill Implementing More 9/11 Commission Recommendations
The bill passed the House by a 299 to 128 vote. It now moves to the Senate where a different version will be considered. The White House and the Chamber have expressed serious concerns about costly and unrealistic mandate provisions in the House-passed bill that would require the scanning of all air cargo loaded onto passenger planes and all seaborne cargo containers shipped into the United States.

House Passes Bill Raising the Federal Minimum Wage
The House passed the measure by a 315 to 116 vote. The bill raises the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 an hour in three stages over 26 months. The Chamber expressed disappointment with this vote because this wage hike will hurt many small businesses. Although continuing to oppose a wage increase, the Chamber is working with the Senate to add tax and regulatory relief provisions to the Senate version to help small businesses absorb these higher costs.

House Debates Medicare Drug Bill; Stem Cell Research Bill Passes
By a 253 to 174 vote, the House passed legislation to expand embryonic stem cell research. The vote is 37 short of the total votes needed to sustain a veto. The House debates another of the "100 hours" Democratic leadership bills. The bill would require the government to negotiate lower drug prices with drug companies for Medicare recipients; it is opposed by the Chamber.

FY-2007 Budget Deficit Estimate Lower But Democrats Still Face Tough Choices
The Congressional Budget Office estimated the deficit in the just completed first quarter of FY-2007 will be $85 billion, down $35 billion from the same period a year ago. Record corporate profits have been the biggest factor in decreasing the size of the deficit. CBO on Jan. 24 will release its latest overall budget outlook and 10-year forecast later this month. In spite of the good news, the Democratically-controlled 110th Congress still faces some tough spending choices.

Health Care Latest
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services reports the United States spent $1.9888 trillion ($6,697 per person) on health care in 2005. This represents an increase of 6.9% which is down from a 7.2% increase in 2004 and the lowest growth rate since 1999.