On the recordFebruary 3, 2011
this amendment is not about quality. It is not about unions. It is about a Federal Government that is spending too much money, and it is about an enormous debt we have. It is about starting somewhere. People agree that you save money if you do not have to pay the prevailing wage. Everybody knows it. The gallery knows it. The public knows it. In Kentucky, schools cost 30 percent more if you have prevailing wage. You build less schools. Your money does not go as far. It is not a good efficient use of your money. With regard to quality, to imply that you cannot have quality unless it is union labor, unless it is prevailing wage, completely ignores what goes on in our economy; that is to say, the 90 percent of things that are made in our country that are nonunion and nonprevailing wage do not have quality. The argument is specious. It has no substance. What this is about is making a first step toward controlling our deficit. We need to cut costs in government. If we cannot do these little things--this would save $500 million on this bill. It is a small amount in Washington. It is a large amount to us in Kentucky, to individuals. It is a small amount, but it is a first step toward saying we are going to be responsible as a Congress and say: Enough is enough; we cannot live with $2 trillion deficits each year. It is out of control. We are headed toward financial ruin, and this is one first step forward.
