Alexander told Congress in 1995 that Davis-Bacon
was “a big favor for the unions” but “no favor at all…for efficiency or
economy”
“Enough is enough: For 83 years, this handout to
labor unions has meant that, rather than getting the job done for the
lowest cost, taxpayers get charged extra on everything from building
roads to painting buildings.” –Lamar Alexander
Washington, D.C., July 17– U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander
(R-Tenn.), the senior Republican on the Senate labor committee, today
cosponsored a bill introduced by Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) to repeal the
Davis-Bacon Act, a law mandating a wage subsidy on nearly all federally
funded construction projects.
“Enough is enough: For 83 years, this handout to labor unions has
meant that, rather than getting the job done for the lowest cost,
taxpayers get charged extra on everything from building roads to
painting buildings,” Alexander said.
In 1995, Alexander testified before Congress urging the repeal of
legislation that extended Davis-Bacon provisions to school construction
and renovation, saying: “That means a principal in Moline who wants to
hire a contractor to rewire his school for new computers must pay the
prevailing union wage rather than getting the job done for the lowest
cost. It's a big favor for the unions, but no favor at all for schools,
efficiency or economy.”
The
Davis-Bacon Repeal Act would repeal the federal
legislation that requires all contractors and subcontractors working on
federally funded or assisted contracts worth more than $2,000 for the
construction, alteration and repair of public buildings or public works
to pay the local “prevailing wage,” as determined by the Department of
Labor.
The bill was also cosponsored by Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Tim
Scott (R-S.C.), Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Ron
Johnson (R-Wis.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and David
Vitter (R-La.).
The Congressional Budget Office reports that Davis-Bacon requirements
increase construction costs by raising wages on federal projects, by
requiring labor to be used in a costly fashion, and by imposing
reporting and paperwork requirement on contractors. CBO estimates that a
repeal would save $12.7 billion over ten years.
A 2008 Suffolk University study found that Davis-Bacon requirements
cost U.S. taxpayers an additional $8.6 billion annually and add 9.9
percent to construction costs.
The Department of Labor’s data on prevailing wages is expensive to
collect and is subject to error, bias and fraud. The department’s
Inspector General has found these problems to be pervasive, despite
millions invested to improve data collection.
Comment: Davis-Bacon inflates the price of every construction contract that involves federal funds. If we do construction at the air port or build the AMP or build roads or build a school or do any construction that involves any federal spending, we have to pay 'prevailing wage,' which really is not prevailing wage but is union scale wage which can drastically inflate the cost of the projects. Davis-Bacon needs to be repealed! Lamar Alexander is the author of an
article that appears in today's National Review Online that calls for repeal of Davis-Bacon.
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