what is the current federal minimum wage, and are there any bills before congress to change it, or is there anything on the state level in texas that would affect it?

Current minimum wage is 5.15/hour. There is nothing in Texas pending. On the federal level, there were 2 proposals last year. The Democratic proposal would have raised it to 7.25/hour; this effort was led by Ted Kennedy. The Republican proposal would have raised it to 6.25/hour; this effort was led by Sen Rick Santorum. These were to be added to the bankruptcy law last year but both of these were defeated.