"Members of Congress should, at least temporarily, deny themselves a few of the comforts of political office and refrain from directing tax dollars to special projects in their states that might help their political campaigns but not necessarily the country as a whole," the senators wrote Sept. 7. "In the past year Congress has found a way to fund thousands of projects of questionable merit. Perhaps a few of those dollars could have been better spent on activities that might have limited the impact of this tragedy."
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The problem, of course, is that Republicans have long opposed Davis-Bacon, charging that it amounts to a taxpayer subsidy to unions. Why not try to suspend the act now?
Arguing an anti-union line, the letter signed by 35 House Republicans points out that "Davis-Bacon regulations effectively discriminate against contractor employment of non-union and lower-skilled workers and can even raise total construction costs by up to 38 percent."
But the prevailing wage in New Orleans is just $9/hour for construction work, according to the Department of Labor. So who is really being hurt in the end?
Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, accused Bush of "using the devastation of Hurricane Katrina to cut the wages of people desperately trying to rebuild their lives and their communities."
Miller told CNN: "President Bush should immediately realize the colossal mistake he has made in signing this order and rescind it and ensure that America puts its people back to work in the wake of Katrina at wages that will get them and their families back on their feet."
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This article first appeared at Journalists Against Bush's B.S.
Article comments
1 - David R. Mark
There's a regarding this subject at JABBS.
2 - gonzo marx
once again, the GOP has shown it's colors...rather than work to elevate everyone they push down the average person to increase the Profits of their buddies and donors...
do you honestly think that this measure will make those contracts any cheaper, or will the extra cash just go into the top dogs pockets?
puh-leeEEEEeeeEEEeezzZZzze
Excelsior!
3 - RedTard
I think it is a good idea. This "Minimum Wage" garbage is just more red tape that allows politicians to hand contracts to their buddies instead of having an actual competitive bidding process.
The government should take the lowest bid from any company capable of doing the job.
4 - AndieP
This is yet another example of the contempt Pres. Bush feels for the poor. This benefits no one but his fat cat friends (note who has "won" some of the non-competitive contracts for Katrina recovery awarded by FEMA the day following Mr. Cheyney's visit to the area!)
These people have lost everything and now this act insures that they will have little chance to recover. The contractors will reap a huge windfall. After Halliburton's problems in Iraq, I am surprised they are leaving themselves open to further investigations.
5 - Nancy
I'm not: at the rate the investigations against Halliburton & its subsidiaries are going, everyone involved will be long dead and beyond reach of punishment or censure by the time any (if any indeed) results or condemnations are released, and that's what they're counting on.