Political Quotes

“Madam Chairman, I rise in opposition to this amendment which will preclude the Department of Homeland Security or any entity that receives funding from the Department of Homeland Security, such as State and local governments, from insisting on fair labor standards for construction contracts, also known has the Davis- Bacon Act standards. Davis-Bacon is a pretty simple concept and a fair one. It requires that workers on federally funded construction projects be paid no less than the wages paid in the community for similar work. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the differences in labor costs that this makes are insignificant. Average labor costs, including benefits and payroll taxes, are roughly one-quarter of construction costs. Thus, if there's an increase in overall contract costs due to higher wages, it likely would be modest to the point in many cases of being virtually undetectable. And in fact, Davis-Bacon, in ensuring that fair wages attract skilled workers, this might actually mean that the work is completed at a higher quality and in less time. This amendment flouts the basic concept of wage fairness. At the exact time we're trying to get people back to work across the country, is this House going to vote to drive down the wages of workers who do business with the government on the theory that it might cost a little less money on construction projects?…”