Article: Republican move may trip up bid to raise minimum wage; Selected dates when the minimum wage was increased: Year Wage 1938 25 cents 1950 75 cents 1956 $1 1974 $2 1980 $3.10 1990 $3.80 1991 $4.25

Prospects for an increase in the minimum wage and a repeal of the gas tax ran into a stumbling block Wednesday when House Republican leaders backed a move to excuse most small businesses from paying the wage boost.

Democrats began the day anxious for a political victory after helping Republicans on Tuesday pass a repeal of President Clinton's 4.3-cents-a-gallon gasoline tax increase.

But as the House began debating a measure to boost the wage, in two annual steps, to $5.15 per hour from $4.25, GOP strategists unveiled an amendment that would exempt businesses with less than $500,000 in annual revenue from all minimum wage and overtime requirements.

The 11th-hour move put in jeopardy the ...

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