Lucille Roybal-Allard: “Earlier this evening, the same amendment was soundly defeated twice on this floor, so I am not sure why there is a need…”

“Earlier this evening, the same amendment was soundly defeated twice on this floor, so I am not sure why there is a need to go over the same worn ground again. The Davis-Bacon Act is a longstanding law that ensures workers on federally funded construction projects are reasonably paid, no less than the wages paid for similar work in the local community. It is simply a matter of fairness that we ensure that the Federal Government pays fair wages for an honest day's work. Mr. Chairman, I have heard the gentleman from Iowa suggest that Davis-Bacon's history is linked to discrimination. But I believe he may be misinformed in thinking that it was the cause and not the solution. In 1927, a contractor who was employing African-American workers was building a Veterans Bureau hospital. Congressman Bacon found that there were very serious issues related to the pay of low wages and the discrimination against the wages of migrant workers. He introduced Davis-Bacon initially to help make sure that these construction workers would be paid the prevailing wages in their community. As I said, these workers happened to be African American. I urge all of my Members to, once again, vote ``no'' on this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Kilmer).”