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By Ledyard King
USA TODAY, Feb 25, 2021

Backers of a push to raise the federal hourly minimum wage to $15 suffered a key loss Thursday after a Senate official ruled the controversial measure cannot be considered as part of President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID relief package making its way through Congress. ...

Rebecca Hamilton, co-CEO of New Hampshire-based W.S. Badger Company, which makes skincare products, told the [House Small Business] committee that paying her employees no less than $15 an hour has helped her small firm.

"This approach has enabled us to spend virtually zero dollars on recruitment while retaining an engaged and committed workforce for the past 25 years," she told lawmakers. "By retaining experience staff, we've seen increased productivity, less waste and fewer errors which is important in a manufacturing facility ... The success of our business is directly tied to the dedication of our staff."

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