Tuesday the Senate adopted an amendment from Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) which would block the Labor Department from adopting new rules governing the payment of overtime. The vote of 52-47 garnered the support of 5 GOP members, and was similar to a vote late last year which also sought to overturn the then-prospective rules during the debate over the Labor-HHS appropriations bill. After President Bush threatened to veto the bill, the Harkin amendment was abandoned in conference.

After criticism of the rule changes increased, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao changed the regulations, issuing new ones in April that would protect more workers (including police officers and firefighters) than the original version. Democrats claimed the revised rules did no go far enough, as the measure still strips eligibility from several occupations including IT workers and journalists.