To reduce costs associated with federal construction projects and encourage new hiring, Congresswoman Foxx and original cosponsors Jason Chaffetz, Joe Pitts, and Lynn Westmoreland introduced the Highway Trust Fund Reform Act. The legislation will exempt federal highway construction projects from outdated and costly Davis-Bacon Act wage requirements.
Rep. Virginia Foxx: “Taxpayers have had to bail out America’s Highway Trust Fund before, and they shouldn’t have to do so again. H.R. 711 will exempt the Highway Trust Fund from Davis-Bacon wage mandates that artificially inflate federally funded highway construction costs and price newer, non-union workers out of jobs. Big Labor should not continue to use this Depression-era legislation as a shield to line its own pockets at the expense of non-union workers and taxpayers.”
Rep. Jason Chaffetz: “Simply put – we need to reform outdated and ineffective government regulations. Wages for federal government contracts should not be inflated by outdated labor requirements passed over 80 years ago. The Highway Trust Fund Reform Act is a pro-taxpayer, free-market approach to building highways.”
Rep. Joe Pitts: “Pennsylvania has more structurally deficient bridges than any other state in the nation. We need to use taxpayer funds wisely and start fixing bridges as soon as possible, but federal Davis-Bacon requirements are making it more difficult. It’s time that states start paying the market price for labor and get the most bang for their buck.”
Rep. Lynn Westmoreland: “It is ridiculous that the federal government is still using an outdated federal construction wage rate that was passed during Herbert Hoover’s Administration. Times have changed, but apparently not for the unions, who still want to have a stranglehold on federal highway construction projects and inflate the cost of doing business at the taxpayers’ expense. The Highway Trust Fund is not the personal slush fund of the unions, and by repealing the obsolete Davis-Bacon wage mandates, we can ensure the cost of our federal infrastructure projects are based on real numbers, and also allow non-union workers the opportunity to work on projects that benefit the nation.”
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