Davis-Bacon Act

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The Davis-Bacon Act of 1931 is U.S. federal legislation which established the requirement for paying "prevailing wages" on public works projects. All federal government construction contracts and most contracts for federally assisted construction over $2,000 must include provisions for paying workers on-site no less than the "locally prevailing wages" (though critics charge this essentially means "union wages" [1]) and fringe benefits paid on similar projects.

The act is named after its Republican sponsors, James "Puddler Jim" Davis, a Senator from Pennsylvania and a former Secretary of Labor under three presidents, and Representative Robert L. Bacon of Long Island, New York.

Rep. Bacon--whose pet issue was protecting America’s racial "homogeneity"--initially introduced what became the Davis-Bacon Act in 1927 after a contractor employed African-American workers from Alabama to build a Veteran’s Bureau hospital in his district. The "neighboring community," Bacon reported, was "very upset," as were local unions. The legislative history of Davis-Bacon reflects a desire by Congress to reserve jobs on federal projects for local, union workers, at the expense especially of itinerant black workers.

1 Amendments
2 Suspensions
3 Efforts to Repeal
4 Hurricane Katrina
- 4.1 Efforts to repeal suspension
5 See also
6 External links

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Amendments

The Davis-Bacon Act was amended in 1935 to ensure that contractors bidding on public works projects would not lower wages so as to be sure to make the lowest bid; and to permit government agencies, which were required to accept the lowest bids, to employ contractors who paid a "fair" wage rather than those who competed by hiring cheaper labor (such as from minorities).

The Act was modified again in 1964 to include fringe benefits in the calculation of prevailing wages.

In 1994, the Davis-Bacon act was amended so that the construction, renovation or repair of buildings used by Head Start programs, are also subject to the requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act.

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Suspensions

In 1934 President Franklin Roosevelt suspended the Act for three weeks in order to manage administrative adjustments in light of the New Deal.

The Davis-Bacon Act was suspended by President Richard Nixon for 28 days in February 1971 in efforts to reduce inflation pressures. Labor Secretary Peter J. Brennan accused the Nixon administration of treating the construction workers as patsies. Shortly afterward Nixon reinstated Davis-Bacon enforcement and ordered the establishment of the Construction Industry Stabilization Committee.

In September 1992 President George H.W. Bush indefinitely suspended the Davis-Bacon Act during the recovery from Hurricane Andrew in 1992. After Bill Clinton became president, he re-instated the Act in March of 1993.

On September 7, 2005, President Bush, citing a "national emergency," again suspended the Act in the areas of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.

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Efforts to Repeal

Republicans have long been trying to repeal the Davis-Bacon act on the grounds that the regulations are outdated, expensive and bureaucratic. In 1993 Representative Cliff Stearns [2] urged the repeal of the act. Republican Sue Wilkins Myrick tried to repeal it outright in the budget battles of 1995.[3] Weakening it has been part of the Republican Party platform in 1996 and 2000. In February 1999 Representative Ron Paul attempted to repeal it.[4] In 2004, Representative Marilyn Musgrave tried again.

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Hurricane Katrina

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, House Representatives Jeff Flake, Tom Feeney, Marilyn Musgrave, and other members of the House Republican Study Committee (RSC) urged President Bush to temporarily suspend the Davis-Bacon Act in order to expedite the reconstruction of the Gulf Coast.[5] [6] President George W. Bush then issued proclamation 7924 to indefinitely suspend the provisions of 40 U.S.C. 3141-3148 (the Davis–Bacon Act) in designated areas in the States of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi, the areas most heavily hit by the hurricane. [7] [8] Critics say that suspending the Davis–Bacon Act will further perpetuate poverty in the area [9] [10] [11] [12].

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Efforts to repeal suspension

Senators have submitted S. 1749, the Fair Wages for Hurricane Katrina Recovery Workers Act which would restore Davis-Bacon wage floors for workers involved in the restoration of the Gulf Coast.[13] Similar measures have been submitted to the House with H.R.3684, H.R.3763, and H.R.3834. On October 26, 2005, after pressure from both Democrats and Republicans, Bush rescinded his emergency order and restored the prevailing wage requirement.

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