[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 11277-11278]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF DAVIS-BACON PREVAILING WAGE REQUIREMENTS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JAY INSLEE

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 15, 2011

  Mr. INSLEE. Mr. Speaker, today I voted against an amendment, offered 
by Representative Gosar, that sought to prohibit funding in the Energy 
and Water Appropriations bill from being used to enforce Davis-Bacon 
prevailing wage requirements for federal contracts. Throughout the 
appropriations process for the upcoming fiscal year, I have voted 
against other similar amendments that seek to give federal contractors 
the ability to undercut the local wage levels on contracts valued at 
more than $2,000.
   The Davis-Bacon Act has been law since 1930, and simply requires 
that federal contractors, performing work for the government valued at 
more than $2,000, must be paid at least the local prevailing wage and 
fringe benefits in the area. This ensures that any workers that are 
working on a federal contract receive the same compensation as the work 
done by their neighbors. In a time of great economic difficulty and 
uncertainty for so many working families in our country, I will 
staunchly oppose efforts to undermine or weaken common-sense 
protections like those put in place by the Davis-Bacon Act.

[[Page 11278]]



                          ____________________