On the recordMay 31, 2012
I thank the gentleman for yielding. I just want to say first that the gentleman mentioned that he thought that this bill had been written by the Associated Builders and Contractors. That's not the case. This issue was first brought to my attention after a meeting my office had with the Army Corps of Engineers. So a government agency brought it to our attention. Second, we are trying to bring back the same neutrality that existed during the Bush administration, which was before this President put the finger on the scale. During the Bush administration, during that 8 years in which we had the neutrality like this amendment of mine returns to, there were contracts awarded with project labor agreements and there were contracts awarded without them. That's what neutrality does. Where it makes sense to use a PLA, it's used. When it doesn't make sense, it isn't. It's neutrality. That's what this bill returns to. That's why this amendment should be rejected.
