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White House suspends Davis-Bacon Act on federal hurricane relief funds
In September, the White House issued a proclamation suspending the Davis-Bacon Act wage requirements for federal funds dedicated to rebuilding areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Under the Davis-Bacon Act, prevailing wage rates must be paid on all federal construction contracts in excess of $2,000. However, the act also stipulates that the president may suspend the prevailing wage requirements "during a national emergency."
"The devastation from the hurricane has resulted in the largest amount of property damage from a natural disaster in the history of the nation," President George Bush stated in the proclamation. "An enormous but undetermined number of lives have been lost, and thousands of individuals have lost their jobs and livelihood.
"An unprecedented amount of federal assistance will be needed to restore the communities that have been ravaged by the hurricane. Accordingly, I find that the conditions caused by Hurricane Katrina constitute a 'national emergency' within the meaning of section 3147 of title 40, United States Code," Bush stated.
Since enacted in 1931, Davis-Bacon Act requirements have been suspended a number of times during national emergencies by a variety of presidents. The prevailing wage provisions were suspended in 1934 by Franklin Roosevelt, and again in 1971 by Richard Nixon. More recently, George H.W. Bush suspended Davis-Bacon wage requirements for certain areas of Louisiana, Florida and Hawaii in 1992 in the wake of hurricanes Andrew and Iniki.
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