Rep. Charles Taylor (R) of North Carolina tells constituents why he supports the Gulf Coast Wage Cut.
See if you can identify the key points of bamboozlement …
Thank you for contacting me to inquire about the suspension of the Davis-Bacon Act. I always appreciate hearing from constituents and greatly benefit from knowing your views.
Davis-Bacon dates from 1931 and states that workers employed in a project involving a government contract must be paid the local prevailing wage rate. As you are certainly aware, the President issued a proclamation which suspends the requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act in the areas of Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Davis-Bacon Act has been suspended from time to time in accordance with federal law (40 U.S.C. Section 3147) which states that the President may suspend the act during a national emergency. President Roosevelt suspended the Act in 1934 in order to deal with administrative adjustments with regards to the New Deal, for example. President George H. W. Bush suspended the Act in 1992 to expedite construction contracts in the recovery areas in Florida, Louisiana, and Hawaii in the wake of hurricanes Andrew and Iniki. It should be noted that the provisions of the 1974 Stafford Act, which empowers FEMA to repair and rebuild after a natural disaster, reject the application of Davis-Bacon to repair or reconstruction projects involving state or local public facilities, private nonprofit facilities, and owner-occupied private residences following a major disaster. Simply put, for more than thirty years Congress has held on a bipartisan basis that national recovery from severe natural disasters must take precedence over matters of locally prevailing wages in the construction industry.
Suspension of Davis-Bacon to facilitate the rebuilding of the devastated Gulf Coast was the right judgment call. Hurricane Katrina stands as the worst natural disaster in our nation’s history. As public and private resources are marshalled at unprecedented levels to assist its victims, now is the time to put aside matters of political self-interest and instead focus on rebuilding as a nation. No one could rationally argue that the victims of hurricane should be forced to wait for months, if not years, in temporary shelters while the Washington labor union bosses flex their special interest muscles. Congress built into the Davis-Bacon Act the power to set aside its prevailing wage provisions at times of the most dire of national emergencies — even the most selfish union apologists must agree that the victims of Hurricane Katrina deserve such consideration at this moment.
Although you and I may disagree regarding this matter, I hope that you will continue to write and share your thoughts with me.
Remember, Taylor was the <$NoAd$>guy who couldn’t come up with a straight story for his constituents about whether or not he cast a vote on CAFTA.
