On Tuesday, Democrats in the Senate blocked passage of an appropriations bill in protest over the Bush administration's plan to reduce overtime protection for white-collar workers. House and Senate negotiators removed a provision from the bill that would have blocked new Labor Department rules limiting the number of white-collar workers not entitled to extra pay for overtime. The spending package has also been criticized for being filled with pork barrel spending, with $11 billion slated for home-district projects. Still, it was considered only a delay as the bill is expected to pass before a temporary spending measure runs out on January 31.
See "Senate Democrats block bill to gut overtime rules: Eventual passage still deemed likely", Mike Dorning and T. Shawn Taylor, Chicago Tribune, January 20, 2004