I thank the gentlewoman from Minnesota for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I oppose this amendment because I support Davis-Bacon. Studies have shown that Davis-Bacon actually doesn't increase the cost to taxpayers, but what happens is that, if this amendment were to pass, you would see a reduction in wages. You would see an increase with these protections from Davis-Bacon being pulled away, an increase in on-the-job injuries. You would have fewer workers with health benefits. Davis-Bacon is about preventing wage exploitation. It is about preventing, undercutting local wages. I will tell you this. This is about ensuring that when the Federal Government builds a project with taxpayer money that it is not just about building a road or a bridge or a facility. It is about building the middle class, and it is about building the next generation of workers. It is about providing training and providing a good wage for people to be able to live and earn a good living and live with dignity.
Share & report
More from Derek Kilmer
Congressman Newhouse and I just reintroduced a bill, called the Blue Ocean Energy Innovation Act, which would supercharge some of the work that is happening at PNNL and the Sequim Lab to develop blue energy.
I think there is going to be a push by the Fix Congress Caucus and by others: Focus on the schedule and calendar.
Not only will this project improve the habitats of fish and wildlife, including ESA-listed Hood Canal Summer Chum, but it will also enhance the lives of constituents through reduced seasonal flood risk, safer roads, and job creation.
The Duckabush Estuary Restoration Project will remove a large amount of fill that was placed in the river floodplain to support U.S. Highway 101 and replace it with an estuary-spanning 1,600-ft-long bridge.





