The federal minimum wage rose from $6.55 to $7.25, the last increase scheduled under the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007.
Obama noted in a signing statement accompanying the FY09 omnibus spending bill that he would make exceptions to a provision protecting whistleblowers. In the statement, Obama said: "I do not interpret this provision to detract from my authority to direct the heads of executive departments to supervise, control, and correct employees' communications with the Congress in cases where such communications would be unlawful or would reveal information that is properly privileged or otherwise confidential."
Secretary of State nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton is pushing her department's increased involvement in IMF and World Bank negotiations.
In response to questions from Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., of the Foreign Relations Committee, Secretary of State nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton wrote that Obama "believes that it is not time to lift the embargo on Cuba."
In his confirmation hearing Jan. 16, Attorney General-designate Eric Holder called the politicization of the Bush administration's Justice Department "appalling." While he said he would examine the department's record on civil rights enforcement, he didn't explicitly say whether the new administration would weed out those people hired illegally.
