[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 119, 109th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
PROCLAMATION 7924--SEPT. 8, 2005
Proclamation 7924 of September 8, 2005
To Suspend Subchapter IV of Chapter 31 of Title 40, United States Code,
Within a Limited Geographic Area in Response to the National Emergency
Caused by Hurricane Katrina
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
1. Section 3142(a) of title 40, United States Code, provides that
``every contract in excess of $2,000, to which the Federal Government or
the District of Columbia is a party, for construction, alteration, or
repair, including painting and decorating, of public buildings and
public works of the Government or the District of Columbia that are
located in a State or the District of Columbia and which requires or
involves the employment of mechanics or laborers shall contain a
provision stating the minimum wages to be paid various classes or
laborers and mechanics.'';
2. Section 3142(b) of title 40, United States Code, provides that such
``minimum wages shall be based on the wages the Secretary of Labor
determines to be prevailing for the corresponding classes of laborers
and mechanics employed on projects of a character similar to the
contract work in the civil subdivision of the State in which the work is
to be performed . . .'';

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119 STAT. 3796

3. Under various other related acts, the payment of wages is made
dependent upon determinations by the Secretary of Labor under section
3142 of title 40, United States Code.
4. Section 3147 of title 40, United States Code, provides that ``[t]he
President may suspend the provisions of this subchapter during a
national emergency.'';
5. Several areas of the Nation have been recently devastated by
Hurricane Katrina. The devastation from the hurricane has resulted in
the largest amount of property damage from a natural disaster in the
history of the Nation. An enormous but undetermined number of lives have
been lost, and hundreds of thousands of homes and business
establishments either destroyed or severely damaged. Hundreds of
thousands of individuals have lost their jobs and their livelihood. An
unprecedented amount of Federal assistance will be needed to restore the
communities that have been ravaged by the hurricane. Accordingly, I find
that the conditions caused by Hurricane Katrina constitute a ``national
emergency''; within the meaning of section 3147 of title 40, United
States Code.
(a) Hurricane Katrina has resulted in unprecedented property
damage.
(b) The wage rates imposed by section 3142 of title 40, United
States Code, increase the cost to the Federal Government of providing
Federal assistance to these areas.
(c) Suspension of the subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40,
United States Code, 40 U.S.C. 3141-3148, and the operation of related
acts to the extent they depend upon the Secretary of Labor's
determinations under section 3142 of title 40, United States Code, will
result in greater assistance to these devastated communities and will
permit the employment of thousands of additional individuals.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of
America, do by this proclamation suspend, as to all contracts entered
into on or after the date of this proclamation and until otherwise
provided, the provisions of subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40,
United States Code, 40 U.S.C. 3141-3148, and the provisions of all other
acts providing for the payment of wages, which provisions are dependent
upon determinations by the Secretary of Labor under section 3142 of
title 40, United States Code, as they apply to contracts to be performed
in the following jurisdictions: the counties of Baldwin, Choctaw,
Clarke, Mobile, Sumter, and Washington in the State of Alabama; the
counties of Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe in the State of Florida; the
parishes of Acadia, Allen, Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Beauregard,
Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Calcasieu, Caldwell, Cameron, Catahoula,
Claiborne, Concordia, De Soto, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East
Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Iberia, Iberville, Jackson,
Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, La Salle, Lafayette, Lafourche, Lincoln,
Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Orleans, Ouachita,
Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St.
Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St.
Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Tensas,
Terrebonne, Union, Vermilion, Vernon, Washington, Webster, West Baton
Rouge, West Carroll, West Feliciana, and Winn in the State of Louisiana;
and the counties of Adams, Alcorn, Amite, Attala, Benton, Bolivar,
Calhoun, Carroll, Chickasaw, Choctaw,

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119 STAT. 3797

Claiborne, Clarke, Clay, Coahoma, Copiah, Covington, DeSoto, Forrest,
Franklin, George, Greene, Grenada, Hancock, Harrison, Hinds, Holmes,
Humphreys, Issaquena, Itawamba, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jefferson
Davis, Jones, Kemper, Lafayette, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Leake,
Lee, Leflore, Lincoln, Lowndes, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Monroe,
Montgomery, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Panola, Pearl River,
Perry, Pike Pontotoc, Prentiss, Quitman, Rankin, Scott, Sharkey,
Simpson, Smith, Stone, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tippah,
Tishomingo, Tunica, Union, Walthall, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster,
Wilkinson, Winston, Yalobusha, Yazoo in the State of Mississippi.
And, as to such contracts to be performed in such jurisdictions, I do
hereby suspend, until otherwise provided, the provisions of any
Executive Order, proclamation, rule, regulation, or other directive
providing for the payment of wages, which provisions are dependent upon
determinations by the Secretary of Labor under section 3142 of title 40,
United States Code;
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of
September, in the year of our Lord two thousand five, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
thirtieth.
GEORGE W. BUSH