Mohave Today

Congressman Paul A. Gosar (AZ-09) has introduced H.R. 8518, the Responsibility in Federal Contracting Act, which aims to reform how wages for public works projects are calculated. The bill proposes that these calculations be based on actual statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

“For far too long, wages for public works projects have been determined by a flawed formula that sacrifices accuracy and billions of federal tax dollars,” said Gosar. He criticized the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) surveys as "inaccurate and unscientific," citing a 2011 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that found 75% of wage rates established by WHD used surveys tallying the wages of fewer than 29 workers.

Gosar argued that the BLS is better equipped to determine accurate wage rates due to its higher response rate and rigorous follow-up procedures. “Requiring the BLS to calculate these wages could save hundreds of billions every year on infrastructure projects for the federal government,” he stated.

Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Committee, supported the bill, saying, “The DOL chooses to calculate prevailing wages with biased, self-selected surveys instead of using scientific BLS data... This bill eliminates one of the many ways that politically connected union officials disproportionately benefit from government spending.”

The Davis-Bacon Act (DBA) of 1931 mandates that government contractors pay a “prevailing” wage on federal construction projects. Currently, this wage is determined through WHD surveys. If 30% or more employees report an identical wage—making it the most common—it becomes the prevailing wage; otherwise, an average wage is used.

The proposed legislation aligns with recommendations from both the GAO and the DOL Inspector General. It would require wage surveys be conducted by BLS using "proper random statistical sampling techniques."

Several groups support this bill, including Heritage Action, National Right to Work Committee, Institute for the American Worker, and Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.