Smucker Introduces Legislation to Block Costly Biden Administration Regulation
Washington—Rep. Lloyd Smucker (PA-11) introduced legislation to block implementation of a Biden administration regulation which would directly lead to higher taxes on Americans. In the form of new Davis-Bacon Act regulation, the Biden Administration wants to require prevailing wages for federal or federally funded construction projects, which will cause a dramatic increase in costs. Despite claims of needed “modernizing,” the Biden administration’s rule reverts to a definition of “prevailing wage” that has not been used in forty years.
“American families continue to struggle with higher costs caused by the Biden administration’s failed policies. If this regulation is allowed to be implemented, taxpayers can expect to be on the hook for artificially inflated federal construction costs. This misguided regulation is yet another giveaway to Democrat political allies at the expense of the American taxpayers. With deficits totaling nearly $2 trillion last fiscal year and with a mounting national debt, every effort must be taken to drive down costs, not unilaterally raise them. The free market should determine wages, not a nearly century-old formula. This regulation is wrong for American taxpayers and must be stopped,” said Rep. Smucker.
“The Wage and Hour Division’s Davis-Bacon rule is a complete giveaway to union bosses. This rule dims America’s infrastructure outlook by increasing costs for federal construction projects and imposing a massive financial burden on taxpayers. I commend Rep. Smucker for leading a CRA resolution to block this harmful rule and the Biden administration’s bureaucratic overreach.” Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC)
Cosponsors of Rep. Smucker’s legislation are Education & Workforce Committee Chairwoman Rep. Virginia Foxx (NC-5), Reps. Mary Miller (IL-15), Glenn “GT” Thompson (PA-15), Pete Sessions (TX-17), Jeff Duncan (SC-3), Beth Van Duyne (TX-24), Debbie Lesko (AZ-8), Mark Green (TN-7), Burgess Owens (UT-4), Steve Womack (AR-3), Randy Weber (TX-14), Jim Banks (IN-3), Julia Letlow (LA-5), John Moolenaar (MI-2), Nancy Mace (SC-1), Jim Baird (IN-4), Scott Fitzgerald (WI-5), Tracey Mann (KS-1), Ashley Hinson (IA-2), Keith Self (TX-3), John Rose (TN-6) and Erin Houchin (IN-9).
Smucker’s legislation is supported by a number of organizations, including Americans for Tax Reform, Americans for Prosperity, Heritage Action, Taxpayers Protection Alliance, AMAC Action, American Commitment, National Right to Work Committee, the Freedom Foundation, James Madison Institute, Institute for the American Worker, American Concrete Pumping Association, American Fire Sprinkler Association, American Pipeline Contractors Association, Associated Builders and Contractors, Construction Industry Round Table, Construction Leadership Council, Independent Electrical Contractors, National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), National Society of Professional Surveyors, National Precast Concrete Association, Power and Communication Contractors Association, Precast/Prestressed Concrete Association, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council and the U.S. Geospatial Executives Organization
“Americans for Prosperity is proud to support Rep. Smucker’s effort to stop the Biden Administration from making the unnecessary and antiquated Davis-Bacon Act even costlier for taxpayers. American families are reeling from the inflation brought on by President Biden’s reckless spending and regulation, and yet he remains committed to enriching his political allies in organized labor at taxpayers’ expense with even more of the same. Thankfully, Rep. Smucker is attempting to stand in the way on behalf of those beleaguered taxpayers. We applaud his effort and urge Congress to pass this CRA immediately.” - Akash Chougule, Vice President, Americans for Prosperity.
“ABC and a broad coalition of construction industry groups support this effort because the U.S. Department of Labor’s final rule circumvents congressional authority and the Davis-Bacon Act’s original intent while needlessly increasing costs, suppressing competition from small businesses and illegally ensuring that union wages are adopted more frequently by the government on federal and federally assisted construction projects funded by taxpayers. In addition, the DOL final rule missed an opportunity to provide needed regulatory clarity for contractors and fix the DOL’s voluntary, unscientific and inefficient wage survey and wage determination process that has so often led to criticism by the government’s own watchdogs and pro-taxpayer groups alike.” – Ben Brubeck, Vice President of Regulatory, Labor and State Affairs, Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. (ABC)
Background:
The Department of Labor Hour and Wage Division states: “The Davis-Bacon and Related Acts apply to contractors and subcontractors performing on federally funded or assisted contracts in excess of $2,000 for the construction, alteration, or repair (including painting and decorating) of public buildings or public works.”
According to the Heritage Foundation, the Davis-Bacon Act “drives up federal construction costs by about 10%, costing taxpayers an estimated $10.9 billion per year.”
A December 2022 release from the Congressional Budget Office reports that eliminating the requirements under the Davis-Bacon Act would save approximately $24 billion over a ten-year period.
Construction industry associations are supportive of Rep. Smucker’s legislation, writing in a letter: “In short, the new rule increases regulatory burdens on small businesses, new industries and additional public works projects and rescinds modest pro-taxpayer reforms that have been in place for nearly 40 years.”
What They are Saying about Rep. Smucker’s Legislation:
“Many people assume that government contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, but that’s not always the case. So-called prevailing wage requirements enshrined in federal law force taxpayers to pay artificially inflated labor costs for federal transportation, infrastructure and other construction projects. A new regulation from the Biden administration will make matters worse by increasing red tape and allowing union contracts to be more central to government prevailing wage calculations. Unless Congress intervenes, the regulation will both further increase the cost of federal projects and drive federal contracts towards the relatively small percentage of unionized contractors by limiting the cost advantage of their non-union but equally qualified competitors. The Freedom Foundation commends Rep. Smucker for standing up for American taxpayers and small businesses and fighting back against Biden’s political giveaway to Big Labor.”- Aaron Withe, CEO of the Freedom Foundation
“The Biden DOL’s new Davis Bacon rules present federal contractors with a choice: attempt to remain independent and comply with hundreds of pages of new regulations that are now more complex and carry heightened penalties, or partner with the union bosses around whom the rules were designed. Workers who don’t want to be unionized are now even less likely to benefit from federal infrastructure spending and their tax dollars will go towards paying increased construction costs. These new rules, and ultimately the entire Davis Bacon regime, should be repealed.” - Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Committee
"Kudos to Rep. Smucker for leading the fight to reverse the Biden DOL rule that would gut President Reagan's historic Davis-Bacon reforms and enrich union bosses at the expense of taxpayers," said American Commitment President Phil Kerpen.
"The Biden administration's revision of Davis-Bacon guidelines are little more than a crony handout to organized labor that will inflate the cost of federally funded construction projects. It will also undermine competition in labor markets by prohibiting nonunionized workers from negotiating freely with perspective employers and thereby undercutting unions' costly demands. This Great Depression-era regulation should be eliminated, not enhanced. Biden's new policy allows unions more easily to set the price of labor for federally funded projects at the expense of taxpayers. The median wage of unionized workers is 18 percent higher than that of nonunionized workers. The updated policy will divert federal funds that should be going to infrastructure projects and is likely to cost taxpayers billions of dollars. Instead, those funds will go to line the pockets of unions, their bosses, and (through political donations) Democrat political campaigns. Every taxpayer dollar that goes to inflated construction costs is a dollar that is taken away from infrastructure." - David Williams, President of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance