With all the uproar about the billions more dollars allocated for the Iraq War yesterday, almost completely unnoticed is that in the same bill Congress also raised the federal minimum wage for the first time in almost a decade.

The hike will raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour over three years. Starting 60 days after it is signed into law, the first increase will be to $5.85. In year two, it goes to $6.55 an hour. And in year three, $7.25.

The U.S. Congress tonight passed a $122 billion emergency supplemental appropriation to continue funding the war in Iraq at least through September. St. Louis Congressmen Lacy Clay and Russ Carnahan voted against the measure, which passed the Democratic-controlled House by a vote of 280-142.

The following statement comes from Rep. Clay:

“I cannot, in good conscience, vote for a supplemental appropriation that provides $97.8 billion more for President Bush’s failed policy in Iraq.

This bill imposes no real deadlines and lacks any credible thresholds of accountability for either the President or the Iraqi government.

It does nothing to move this tragic and unnecessary war towards a swift and responsible conclusion, which is what the American people expect us to do.

Very soon, Congress will revisit this critical situation. And I pray that we will finally have the courage to face the realities on the ground, let the Iraqis decide their own country’s future, and bring our brave troops home.”

In the Senate, Democrat Claire McCaskill and Republican Kit Bond were among the 80 votes in favor of the funding. Illinois Senator Dick Durbin also voted for it, while his colleague and Presidential candidate, Barack Obama, voted against.

Obama’s leading competitor in the Senate, Hillary Clinton, also voted no.

How Missouri’s Delegation Voted:

Lacy Clay (D-1st) - NO
Todd Akin (R-2nd) - YES
Russ Carnahan (D-3rd) - NO
Ike Skelton (D-4th) - YES
Emanuel Cleaver (D-5th) - NO
Sam Graves (R-6th) - YES
Roy Blunt (R-7th) - YES
Jo Ann Emerson (R-8th) - Did not vote
Kenny Hulshof (R-9th) - YES

Kit Bond (R) - YES
Claire McCaskill (D) - YES

Click here for the Senate roll call vote.
Click here for the House roll call vote.

In other news… The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill this week to rename the University City Post Office after former Missouri Lieutenant Gov. Harriett Woods, who passed away earlier this year.

H.R. 1617, introduced by St. Louis Congressman Russ Carnahan, would name the post office located at 561 Kingsland Avenue “The Harriett F. Woods Post Office Building.” According to a release from Carnahan’s office, the location was chosen due to the fact that Woods began her political career in University City and it was the post office that served Woods for nearly 50 years.

As a further testament to Woods’ legacy, said Carnahan, H.R. 1617 was cosponsored by 74 Representatives, including nearly every female Member of Congress from both sides of the aisle and the Missouri delegation.

St. Louis Congressman Lacy Clay has joined with Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) in filing articles of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney.

On April 17, Kucinich wrote a letter to his Democratic colleagues espressing his intention to fill the legislation. “Dear Colleague,” wrote the Presidential candidate, “This week I intend to introduce Articles of Impeachment with respect to the conduct of Vice President Cheney. Please have your staff contact my office . . . if you would like to receive a confidential copy of the document prior to its introduction in the House.”

Since then, only Clay and Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Illinois have added their names to House Resolution 333, which states:

“Despite all evidence to the contrary, the Vice President actively and systematically sought to deceive the citizens and Congress of the United States about an alleged threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction…”

“The Vice President subverted the national security interests of the United States by setting the stage for the loss of more than 3300 United States service members; the loss of 650,000 Iraqi citizens since the United States invasion; the loss of approximately $500 billion in war costs which has increased our Federal debt; the loss of military readiness within the United States Armed Services due to overextension, lack of training and lack of equipment; the loss of United States credibility in world affairs; and the decades of likely blowback created by the invasion of Iraq.

“In all of this, Vice President Richard B. Cheney has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as Vice President, and subversive of constitutional government, to the prejudice of the cause of law and justice and the manifest injury of the people of the United States. Wherefore, Vice President Richard B. Cheney, by such conduct, is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.”

Click here to read the full text of the resolution.

CLAY OR CARNAHAN??? — If you were running for office and had to pick between Congressmen Lacy Clay and Russ Carnahan for a leadership role in your campaign, who would you pick?

Judging from a leaked memo, Presidential Candidate Barack Obama’s people are betting on Lacy.

According to the internal campaign memo, first reported by Newsweek (but a hat tip to Jo Mannies for the local posting), Obama’s staff advised him to tell Clay that “he will be one of the main leaders in Missouri for your campaign.”

But they advised Obama “DO NOT lead [Carnahan] to believe that he will be in an exclusive role.”

Both St. Louis Congressmen got to Washington with the help of their fathers’ last names. Clay in 2000. Carnahan in 2004. Clay’s four years of seniority may be what Obama’s people are focusing on. But some may argue that the Carnahan name is more valuable for any Democrat looking for votes across Missouri.

BURKE DISSES CLAIRE? — Fresh off of dissing singer Sheryl Crow, Archbishop Raymond Burke seems to have a new pro-choice Missouri woman to practice his passive aggressiveness on.

U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill’s people are pointing Burke’s way after the Missouri representative was un-invited as the commencement speaker at St. Joseph’s Academy, where her daughter is graduating later this month.

“It was a special opportunity because my daughter is one of the graduates. I’m disappointed that the archbishop has made this decision,” McCaskill said in a statement.

But Burke’s people say it wasn’t him. They say the decision was all St. Joseph’s.

DR. DOCTOR — Respected newsman Tim Russert of NBC’s “Meet the Press” (remember when PubDef was on “Meet the Press”?) and Dr. Henry Givens, president of Harris-Stowe State University, are among the six men and women slated to receive honorary degrees from Wash U this month.

Russert will deliver the Commencement address and receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree. Givens, who already holds a Ph.D., will add another doctorate to his wall when he gets his honorary doctor of humanities degree.

ABC News broadcaster Paul Harvey; David C. Farrell, the former CEO of the May Department Stores; William S. Sly, M.D., chairman of SLU’s Dept. of Biochemistry; and Shirley M. Tilghman, Ph.D., president of Princeton University, round out the list of overachievers.

Congressman Lacy Clay has issued the following statement in response to President George W. Bush’s State of the Union address delivered a short time ago:

“Tonight, the President reviewed his long list of broken promises and confirmed that he is still disconnected from what really matters to the American people. A year ago, he promised that as the Iraqi government stood up, the U.S. would stand down. Since he made that statement, 879 more brave Americans have been killed in support of Mr. Bush’s failed policy, for a total of 3,059 U.S. soldiers killed in action. The very last thing that we should be doing now is to send 21,000 more U.S. troops into the middle of a civil war.”

“Next week, I will cosponsor a resolution that will advise the President that the House of Representatives strongly opposes his plan to escalate this tragic and unnecessary war. Mr. Bush’s continuing refusal to face reality in Iraq is depleting our military strength and weakening our efforts to fight the very real war against terrorism. We don’t need to escalate this war… we need to end it.”

“The President also spoke a great deal about health care. But unfortunately, his health care proposal will do little or nothing for most of the 47 million Americans who are uninsured. It’s like offering a band-aid to a patient who is bleeding to death. The obvious and most cost-effective way to achieve universal coverage is to expand Medicare to cover the uninsured, which is exactly what I have proposed.”

“In the first 100 hours of the new Congress, the U.S. House, with bipartisan support, has voted to raise the minimum wage, expand federal funding for stem cell research, implement the recommendations of the 9-11 Commission, require negotiation of lower prescription drug costs for seniors, make college loans more affordable, and end the multi-billion dollar giveaways to big oil and gas companies. That is a great beginning.”

“In the coming year, I hope that the President will truly put the state of our union first, and work with us to find common ground on key issues like immigration, alternative energy and conservation, restoring fiscal responsibility, increasing home ownership and ending unfair trade policies that hurt American workers.”

Congressman Lacy Clay’s office proudly announced today that the St. Louisan was unanimously chosen by his Democratic colleagues to chair the House Subcommittee on Information Policy, the Census and the National Archives.

The chairmanship, which is one of five selected by the majority members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has primary oversight responsibility for the 2010 Census, an enormous $12 billion national project that will determine political reapportionment and the distribution of billions of federal dollars.

“This is a historic moment, and I deeply appreciate the confidence and trust that my colleagues have invested in me,” said Clay in a press release.

“The census is one of the most powerful tools that the federal government has to help African-Americans and other minority communities. In 2000, the national census missed at least three million people - mostly the poor and minorities. But as the Chairman of the Census Subcommittee, I will use all the government’s resources to see that this never happens again. Phoenix-like we will rise up and ensure that every American is counted.”

Congressman Clay’s subcommittee will also have oversight responsibilities for the National Archives and Records Administration, which safeguards essential evidence and historical records from U.S. Presidents, the Congress and the federal courts. It also has responsibility for the management of sensitive and classified information through the Office of Information Security Oversight and for monitoring the enforcement of the Freedom of Information Act.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi swears in Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay for another term in the U.S. House. Joining the Congressman for this occasion in the U.S. Capitol were his father, former Congressman Bill Clay; mother, Carol Clay; and sister, Michelle Clay.

DONE FOR A WHILE — Outgoing Senator Jim Talent said Monday he doesn’t intend to seek political office again in the near future, but wasn’t ruling out a later campaign farther down the road.

“I don’t foreclose anything, but I don’t have any plans to run for anything for a while anyway,” Talent told the Neosho Daily News.

The Daily News ponders that Talent “could try in 2008 for the Republican nomination for election to his former western St. Louis county 2nd Congressional seat or for Missouri’s other Senate delegation in the same year if incumbent Sen. Kit Bond decides not to run again. A stab at the Republican nomination for governor in 2008 is also an option but not likely unless Gov. Matt Blunt unpredictably makes a go for national office.”

BLUNT BETS AGAINST BEAVERS — Gov. Blunt and Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski have made a gentleman’s wager as the University of Missouri Tigers and Oregon State Beavers prepare to meet in the 73rd Annual Brut Sun Bowl on Friday, Dec. 29, at Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso.

“With Missouri poised to win back-to-back bowls and our second Sun Bowl, a sampling of Oregon products to help us celebrate will be most appreciated,” Blunt said.

Should the Tigers defeat the Beavers, Kulongoski has agreed to give Blunt a bounty of Oregon goodies including a large selection of premium Oregon craft microbrews from the Oregon Brewer’s Guild, three full wheels of globally-recognized Rogue Creamery bleu cheese, and a sampling of fresh Oregon seafood.

Should the Beavers win, Blunt has offered Kulongoski a selection of Missouri branded beef, Missouri award-winning wines and an AgriMissouri basket containing Show Me BBQ, Fitz’s Root Beer, blueberry amaretto syrup from Persimmon Hill Gourmet Foods and apple butter from Bekemeier’s Fruit Butters.

YOU’RE INVITED — U.S. Senator-Elect Claire McCaskill is inviting her supporters to her swearing-in in Washington D.C.

McCaskill will host a cocktail reception on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2007 from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at The Willard Hotel, 1401-09 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

Then on Thursday, Jan. 4, McCaskill will actually be sworn-in at noon. A swearing-in reception will be from 11:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at 538 Dirksen Senate Office Building SD 538, Washington, DC 20540. There will be a closed circuit viewing of the swearing-in for all to enjoy. Senator-elect McCaskill will join the reception immediately following her swearing-in re-enactment which occurs at 1:50pm.

EXCLUSIVE PUB DEF VIDEO

At a press conference today meant to call attention to the working conditions of employees of Wal-Mart, America’s largest private employer, Congressman Lacy Clay was asked about contributions he has accepted from the retailer.

At the conclusion of Clay’s speech, which slammed Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott for his company’s huge profits in the face of persistent poverty among his roughly 1.4 million employees, reporter Matt Sepic of local NPR affiliate KWMU asked Clay whether he would return nearly $7,000 in campaign donations from Wal-Mart’s political action committee.

“Not at all,” said Clay. “That’s the name of the game is raising money. I have dues to pay to my Democratic Party, about $150,000 a year. So wherever I can get that money to pay those dues, I will take it.”

Clay said even though he has accepted money from Wal-Mart, he has not voted how the company would have wanted him to on many issues in Congress.

“You have to have money to run effectively,” said Clay. “I’m going to take all the money I can get.”

Check back later for more exclusive video from today’s press conference…