Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) announced the introduction of legislation (H.R. 4148) to nullify the SWACCA-supported Department of Labor final rule “Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts” that took effect on October 23, 2023. In his press release, Smucker said, “this regulation puts taxpayers on the hook for artificially inflated federal construction costs” and is “a giveaway to Democrat political allies at the expense of the American taxpayers.” The bill is cosponsored by 15 House Republicans: Reps. Virginia Foxx (NC), Beth Van Duyne (TX), G.T. Thompson (PA), Richard Hudson (NC), John Moolenaar (MI), Mary Miller (IL), Tracey Mann (KS), Keith Self (TX), Julia Letlow (LA), John Rose (TN), Roger Williams (TX), Randy Weber (TX), Pete Sessions (TX), Erin Houchin (IN), and Jim Baird (IN). The bill also has the support of the Associated Builders and Contractors, Americans for Prosperity, the National Precast Concrete Association, and the National Society of Professional Surveyors.
SWACCA has long worked to oppose efforts to nullify this final rule, including helping to defeat a similar proposal last Congress from Rep. Smucker to use the Congressional Review Act process to overturn this rule. We also worked with our allies to secure a letter of support from 13 House Republicans for the Davis-Bacon rule soon after it was published.