[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 137 (Monday, October 6, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H8361]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     DAVIS-BACON FRAUD IN OKLAHOMA

  (Mr. BALLENGER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BALLENGER. Madam Speaker, I am sure you have heard by now about 
the Davis-Bacon fraud that was going on Oklahoma. After long 
investigations by the Oklahoma Department of Labor, the FBI indicted 
and a Federal judge convicted a labor union official for falsely 
submitting wage information to inflate wage rates on Federal projects. 
Last week an Oklahoma Federal judge upheld a conviction and denied the 
motion for a new trial or acquittal on 14 felony charges. The union 
official currently awaits sentencing.
  The investigation by the Oklahoma Department of Labor uncovered just 
how easy it is to manipulate the system. The investigation uncovered 
inflated numbers of employees and inflated wage rates on projects that 
were never built. Unfortunately, this false wage information enormously 
skewed data that sets wages on Federal projects. This illustrates the 
poor quality of the Federal wage survey process and how antiquated this 
program really is.
  I would like to close by thanking the officials who were involved in 
the investigation and who persisted on following through to the end 
results, even if the results sadly confirm the fact that the Davis-
Bacon invites fraud and abuse.

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