[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 84 (Thursday, May 18, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1747-S1750]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. THUNE (for himself and Mr. Moran):
  S. 1682. A bill to amend subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, 
United States Code, regarding prevalent wage determinations in order to 
expand access to affordable housing, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
  Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of 
the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

[[Page S1748]]

  


                                S. 1682

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Housing Supply Expansion 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. UPDATES TO WAGE RATE CALCULATIONS.

       (a) In General.--Section 3142(b) of title 40, United States 
     Code, is amended by inserting ``or from geographic groupings 
     other than civil subdivisions of the State (which may include 
     metropolitan statistical areas or other groupings determined 
     appropriate by the Secretary)'' after ``in which the work is 
     to be performed''.
       (b) Changes to Survey Methodology.--Section 3142 of title 
     40, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(f) Survey Information Collection.--By not later than 1 
     year after the date of enactment of the Housing Supply 
     Expansion Act, the Secretary shall--
       ``(1) review the Secretary's method of collecting survey 
     information for determining prevailing wages for purposes of 
     subsection (a); and
       ``(2) revise how such survey information is collected, 
     following a public notice and opportunity for public comment, 
     by--
       ``(A) including surveys that allow for reliable and 
     objective sources of data and a defendable methodology, which 
     may include information collected through Bureau of Labor 
     Statistics surveys; and
       ``(B) improving the percentage of businesses choosing to 
     participate in prevailing wage determination surveys and 
     ensuring proportional representation of businesses 
     represented by labor organizations and businesses not 
     represented by labor organizations in the prevailing wage 
     determination surveys that are completed.''.

     SEC. 3. MULTIPLE WAGE RATE DETERMINATIONS.

       Section 3142 of title 40, United States Code, as amended by 
     section 2, is further amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(g) Federal Housing Acts.--A determination of prevailing 
     wages by the Secretary of Labor applicable under section 
     212(a) of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715c(a)), 
     section 104(b)(1) of the Native American Housing Assistance 
     and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4114(b)(1)), 
     section 12(a) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 
     U.S.C. 1437j(a)), or section 811(j)(5) of the Cranston-
     Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 
     8013(j)(5)) shall be limited to 1 wage rate determination 
     under subsection (b) of this section that corresponds to the 
     overall residential character of the project.''.

     SEC. 4. DAVIS-BACON MODERNIZATION WORKING GROUP.

       (a) Definition.--In this section, the term ``Davis-Bacon 
     Modernization Working Group'' means the working group 
     established under subsection (b)(1).
       (b) Establishment.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor, in 
     consultation with the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
     Development, shall establish within the Department of Labor, 
     a Davis-Bacon Modernization Working Group to recommend the 
     update and modernization of certain requirements under 
     subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code, 
     as described in subsection (c).
       (2) Date of establishment.--The Davis-Bacon Modernization 
     Working Group shall be considered established on the date on 
     which a majority of the members of the Davis-Bacon 
     Modernization Working Group have been appointed, consistent 
     with subsection (d).
       (c) Duties.--The Davis-Bacon Modernization Working Group 
     shall--
       (1) recommend whether, and if so by how much, the 
     residential classification can be applied to affordable 
     housing units with 5 stories or more for purposes of 
     prevailing wage determinations under subchapter IV of chapter 
     31 of title 40, United States Code;
       (2) develop administrative and legislative recommendations 
     of ways, and for what specific circumstances in which, the 
     prevailing wage rate requirements under subchapter IV of 
     chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code, could be waived 
     or streamlined for certain affordable rental Federal Housing 
     Administration new construction projects; and
       (3) review the potential positive and negative outcomes of 
     directing the Bureau of Labor Statistics to determine 
     prevailing wages (rather that the Secretary of Labor under 
     section 3142(b) of title 40, United States Code), in a way 
     that would not rely on the collection of voluntary surveys 
     from businesses but rather on data that is already collected 
     by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
       (d) Members.--
       (1) In general.--The Davis-Bacon Modernization Working 
     Group shall be composed of the following representatives of 
     Federal agencies and relevant non-Federal industry 
     stakeholder organizations:
       (A) A representative from the Department of Labor, 
     appointed by the Secretary of Labor.
       (B) A representative from the Department of Housing and 
     Urban Development, appointed by the Secretary of Housing and 
     Urban Development.
       (C) A representative of a housing construction industry 
     association, appointed by the Secretary of Labor in 
     consultation with the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
     Development.
       (D) A representative of a financial services industry 
     association, appointed by the Secretary of Labor in 
     consultation with the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
     Development.
       (E) A representative of an affordable housing industry 
     association, appointed by the Secretary of Labor in 
     consultation with the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
     Development.
       (F) A representative of a State public housing agency, as 
     defined in section 3 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 
     (42 U.S.C. 1437a), appointed by the Secretary of Labor in 
     consultation with the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
     Development.
       (G) A representative of a tribally designated housing 
     entity, as defined in section 4 of the Native American 
     Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 
     U.S.C. 4103), appointed by the Secretary of Labor in 
     consultation with the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
     Development.
       (H) A representative of a labor organization representing 
     the housing construction workforce, appointed by the 
     Secretary of Labor in consultation with the Secretary of 
     Housing and Urban Development.
       (2) Chair.--The representative from the Department of Labor 
     appointed under paragraph (1)(A) shall serve as the chair of 
     the Davis-Bacon Modernization Working Group, and that 
     representative shall be responsible for organizing the 
     business of the Davis-Bacon Modernization Working Group.
       (e) Other Matters.--
       (1) No compensation.--A member of the Davis-Bacon 
     Modernization Working Group shall serve without compensation.
       (2) Support.--The Secretary of Labor may detail an employee 
     of the Department of Labor to assist and support the work of 
     the Davis-Bacon Modernization Working Group, though such a 
     detailee shall not be considered to be a member of the Davis-
     Bacon Modernization Working Group.
       (f) Report.--
       (1) Reports.--Not later than 1 year after the date on which 
     the Davis-Bacon Modernization Working Group is established, 
     the Davis-Bacon Modernization Working Group shall submit a 
     report containing its findings and recommendations under 
     subsection (c), including recommendations resulting from the 
     review under subsection (c)(3), to the Secretary of Labor, 
     the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of 
     the Senate, and the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
     of the House of Representatives.
       (2) Majority support.--Each recommendation made under 
     paragraph (1) shall be agreed to by a majority of the members 
     of the Davis-Bacon Modernization Working Group.
       (g) Nonapplicability of FACA.--Chapter 10 of title 5, 
     United States Code, shall not apply to the Davis-Bacon 
     Modernization Working Group.
       (h) Sunset.--The Davis-Bacon Modernization Working Group 
     shall terminate on the date the report is completed under 
     subsection (f)(1).

     SEC. 5. NATIONAL HOUSING ACT.

       Section 212(a) of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 
     1715c(a)) is amended by striking ``similar character, as 
     determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with the 
     Davis-Bacon Act, as amended (40 U.S.C. 276a--276a-5)'' and 
     inserting ``residential character, as determined by the 
     Secretary of Labor in accordance with subchapter IV of 
     chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code, that is 
     applicable at the time the application is filed''.

     SEC. 6. HOUSING ACT OF 1959.

       Section 202(j)(5)(A) of the Housing Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 
     1701q(j)(5)(A)) is amended by striking ``similar character, 
     as determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with 
     the Act of March 3, 1931 (commonly known as the Davis-Bacon 
     Act)'' and inserting ``residential character, as determined 
     by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with subchapter IV of 
     chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code, that is 
     applicable at the time the application is filed''.

     SEC. 7. NATIVE AMERICAN HOUSING ASSISTANCE AND SELF-
                   DETERMINATION ACT OF 1996.

       Section 104(b)(1) of the Native American Housing Assistance 
     and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4114(b)(1)) is 
     amended by striking ``, as predetermined by the Secretary of 
     Labor pursuant to the Act of March 3, 1931 (commonly known as 
     the Davis-Bacon Act; chapter 411; 46 Stat. 1494; 40 U.S.C. 
     276a et seq.),'' and inserting ``for corresponding classes of 
     laborers and mechanics employed on construction of a 
     residential character, as predetermined by the Secretary of 
     Labor pursuant to subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, 
     United States Code, that is applicable at the time the 
     application is filed''.

     SEC. 8. CRANSTON-GONZALEZ NATIONAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING ACT.

       Section 811(j)(5)(A) of the Cranston-Gonzalez National 
     Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013(j)(5)(A)) is amended 
     by striking ``similar character, as determined by the 
     Secretary of Labor in accordance with the Act of March 3, 
     1931 (commonly known as the Davis-Bacon Act)'' and inserting 
     ``residential character, as determined by the Secretary of 
     Labor in accordance with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 
     40, United States Code, that is applicable at the time the 
     application is filed''.

     SEC. 9. UNITED STATES HOUSING ACT OF 1937.

       Section 12(a) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 
     U.S.C. 1437j(a)) is amended by striking ``, as predetermined 
     by the Secretary of Labor pursuant to the Davis-Bacon

[[Page S1749]]

     Act (49 Stat. 1011)'' and inserting ``for corresponding 
     classes of laborers and mechanics employed on construction of 
     a residential character, as predetermined by the Secretary of 
     Labor pursuant to subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, 
     United States Code, that is applicable at the time the 
     application is filed''.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. PADILLA:
  S. 1685. A bill to direct the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency to establish a consortium relating to exposures to 
toxic substances and identifying chemicals that are safe to use; to the 
Committee on Environment and Public Works.
  Mr. PADILLA. Madam President, I rise to introduce the Supercomputing 
for Safer Chemicals Act or the SUPERSAFE Act. Through the use of 
supercomputing and artificial intelligence, we have an opportunity to 
transform our scientific understanding of the detrimental effects 
associated with certain industrial chemical uses and to shift American 
commerce towards safer and more sustainable products and manufacturing.
  The legislation would establish a SUPERSAFE Consortium to be led by 
the Environmental Protection Agency in consultation with the heads of 
relevant Federal Agencies, the National Labs, academic and other 
research institutions, State agencies, and other entities as determined 
by the EPA. The purpose of the SUPERSAFE Consortium is to identify 
exposures to toxic substance and chemicals that are safer to use in 
commerce.
  Specifically, the SUPERSAFE Consortium established by this bill would 
use supercomputing, machine learning, and other similar capabilities to 
establish rapid approaches for large-scale identification of toxic 
substances and the development of safer alternatives to toxic 
substances by developing and validating computational toxicology 
methods; address the need to identify safe chemicals for use in 
consumer and industrial products and in their manufacture to support 
the move away from toxic substances and toward safe-by-design 
alternatives; and make recommendations on how the information produced 
can be applied in risk assessments and other characterizations for use 
by the Environmental Protection Agency and other Agencies in regulatory 
decisions and by industry in identifying toxic and safer chemicals.
  Importantly, establishing a SUPERSAFE Consortium would encourage 
interagency collaboration and leverage the best scientific ideas 
through inclusion of State agencies and public and academic research 
institutions.
  Currently, tens of thousands of untested chemicals can be used in 
commercial products, resulting in consumer, community, and worker 
exposures to potentially toxic chemicals. Too often, there is 
insufficient scientific data for evaluating health effects or 
identifying safer chemicals, and existing approaches to generating this 
data are slow, costly, and rely on animal testing.
  We are well poised to address this problem and discover safer 
chemicals by establishing a SUPERSAFE Consortium to use supercomputing, 
machine learning, and other similar capabilities. These technologies 
can be developed and applied to rapidly provide information to evaluate 
chemical safety to identify safe chemicals that avoid the chronic 
diseases and environmental harm caused by toxic chemicals.
  Unfortunately, too many Americans are exposed to toxic chemicals such 
as PFAS and lead. Congress has stepped up and provided billions to 
remediate toxic exposures, including via the bipartisan infrastructure 
law, to address PFAS and lead pollution. Establishing a SUPERSAFE 
Consortium in Federal law could help avoid the widespread pollution 
that our communities face so we can address potential pollution 
challenges before they become widespread.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues to enact this bill as 
quickly as possible.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Ms. Rosen):
  S. 1705. A bill to amend the Student Support and Academic Enrichment 
Grant program to promote career awareness in accounting as part of a 
well-rounded STEM educational experience; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I rise today to introduce the STEM 
Education in Accounting Act, which would help address workforce 
shortages in the accounting profession by recognizing accounting as 
part of a STEM education and adding accounting education programs as an 
allowable use of K-12 Federal grant funding. I want to thank Senator 
Rosen for coleading this bill with me.
  Accountants play a key role in today's economy. They serve as trusted 
advisers for companies large and small, assist in measuring business 
performance, help individuals and businesses file their taxes in an 
accurate and timely manner, and even investigate instances of financial 
fraud. Yet, the United States is facing a shortage of accountants 
willing and able to fill this important economic role. In Maine, for 
example, municipalities have struggled to find public accountants to 
conduct their annual audits.
  Recent trends suggest this shortage will continue. According to the 
Bureau of Labor Statistics, job openings for accountants and auditors 
are expected to grow by 6 percent from 2021 to 2031--about 136,400 
openings each year. At the same time, fewer students are pursuing 
accounting degrees than in prior years.
  The STEM Education in Accounting Act seeks to improve the accounting 
pipeline by expanding K-12 students' exposure to accounting programs. 
As with other areas of STEM education, this bill would qualify 
accounting instruction for Federal funds. This recognition aligns with 
the increasing need for accounting professionals to have high-level 
math and technology skills, including the ability to analyze big data, 
ensure data security, and manage cybersecurity risk.
  In particular, this bill would allow States and school districts to 
use a portion of their Federal student support and academic enrichment 
grant funding to support accounting education, including accounting 
career awareness. The Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grant 
Program was created as part of the Every Student Succeeds Act and aims 
to help States and school districts offer a well-rounded educational 
experience to all students. The STEM Education in Accounting Act would 
also allow school districts to use this flexible grant to strengthen 
accounting curricula, including increasing access to high-quality 
accounting courses for members of groups underrepresented in the 
accounting profession.
  Businesses and individuals rely on accountants to help them develop 
and reach their financial goals. The STEM Education in Accounting Act 
would help address the shortage of accountants by promoting accounting 
education and improving the pipeline of future accountants. I encourage 
my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Ms. Collins, Mrs. Shaheen, and 
        Mr. Kelly):
  S. 1735. A bill to amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act 
of 2002 to improve assistance to community wood facilities, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, I rise today to introduce the 
Community Wood Facilities Assistance Act of 2023 and thank my 
colleagues, Senators Collins, Shaheen, and Kelly, for joining me as 
original cosponsors of the bill.
  This bill will assist with the construction of facilities that make 
sustainable use of small-diameter timber from forest-thinning projects 
and other needed treatments in eastern and western forests.
  In doing so, the bill would also create jobs in rural and forest-
dependent communities while decreasing wildfire risk in our vulnerable 
forests.
  The Forest Service reports that 80 million acres of Forest Service 
lands are at risk of catastrophic wildfire or abnormal levels of insect 
and disease infestations.
  These impacts are only made worse by historic levels of drought. In 
California alone, 129 million trees have died across 8.9 million acres 
due to drought and bark beetles. Thirty-six million of those tree 
deaths were in 2022, triple the number from the previous year. This is 
clearly a crisis.

[[Page S1750]]

  Removing select small trees and other hazardous fuels in our forests 
are critical for preserving our forests over the long term. Not only 
does this ease the competition large trees face for water, it also 
reduces the spread of bark beetles and makes the forest less 
susceptible to catastrophic wildfire.
  Between the bipartisan infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction 
Act, Congress has provided billions of dollars for hazardous fuels 
reduction and forest thinning work. What is needed now is the economic 
infrastructure to support this work.
  Unfortunately, the number of sawmills, bioenergy facilities, and 
other forest-product companies have been shrinking for decades. This is 
due in part to increased production efficiency, but in other instances, 
market instability forced the closure of many large mills.
  One result of the decrease in sawmills is the inability for the 
market to react nimbly to supply and demand. In 2020, even though 
massive wildfires should have meant a boom in salvageable trees, the 
COVID-19 pandemic constrained mill capacity and throughput. This 
constraint, along with a surge in consumer demand, led to a near 400 
percent increase in lumber prices, which are only now resolving.
  An analysis by The Nature Conservancy and Bain and Company management 
consultants recommended incentives to ``bridge the gap between the cost 
of ecological thinning and the economic viability of wood-processing 
infrastructure.''
  As the report explains, ``If more aggressive restoration targets can 
be met, there will be significant need for additional processing 
capacity to defray restoration costs and provide valuable end uses for 
thinned material.''
  Our bill would make targeted changes to existing Forest Service grant 
programs to help the forest product industry grow and provide outlets 
for the billions of acres of wood that will result from the investments 
made in the bipartisan infrastructure law and Inflation Reduction Act.
  The two grant programs we target in this bill are the Community Wood 
Energy and Wood Innovations Grant Program and the Wood Innovations 
Program.
  These programs would benefit from changes, particularly from higher 
Federal cost-shares and an increased ability to provide more funding 
for each project, in addition to a higher authorized funding.
  The first of these, the Community Wood Energy and Wood Innovations 
Grant Program, provides grants for the capital cost of small wood 
products facilities. Our bill would first change the name to avoid 
confusion with the Wood Innovations Program.
  Our bill would also double the authorization level to $50 million per 
year, allow the program to fund new facility construction in addition 
to improvements. The maximum grant amount would also increase from $1 
to $5 million, and the Federal cost share would increase from 35 
percent to 50 percent, making it easier for small companies to use.
  Our bill will also revise the Forest Service's Wood Innovations Grant 
Program, which provides grants for innovative uses and applications of 
wood products and the expansion of related markets. It would similarly 
allow this program to be used for new facilities in addition to 
retrofits and improvements and lower the minimum non-Federal cost-share 
from 50 percent to 33.3 percent.
  Congress has an opportunity this year to make these important changes 
to these grant programs and help stimulate a self-sustaining forest 
product economy and promote healthier forests. I thank Senators 
Collins, Shaheen, and Kelly for their partnership on this bill, and I 
urge the full Senate to promptly take up this bill and pass it as soon 
as possible.

                          ____________________