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Show A HEAVY BURDEN X O' 1fh ' ' ' 'HOLD IT- IVE GOT TO CARRY THIS lOfiV ' The Davis-Bacon Act was designed to protect local wage rates on federally funded construction projects from being undercut by migrant mi-grant labor during the Depression. Today, the need for keeping this law on the books is being questioned sharply. Studies from within arid without government have called for the act's repeal. They cite the Department of Labor's inability to effectively effec-tively administer the act, the act's significant contribution to inflation, infla-tion, and its effect on unemployment rates as reasons to get rid of the law. It has been estimated that Davis-Bacon generates $2.8 billion worth of inflation and sends over 86,000 people to the unemployment line annually. Economists from liberal Walter Heller to conservative Milton Friedman join in calling for the act's burial. More than 80 members of Congress have lent their support to repeal. However, the battle over Davis-Bacon will be difficult. In one week alone, Congress rebuffed five separate attempts to delete Davis-Bacon provisions from various authorization measures. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D.-NY) is at the forefront of the fight to save Davis-Bacon. Reportedly, he promised union officials of-ficials to lead a movement to axe all public works projects if the act is repealed. Similarly, the Carter administration, while conducting a vigorous promotional campaign against inflation, has also pledged allegiance to Davis-Bacon. Such behavior provides a curious paradox para-dox at best, a flat-out contradiction at worst. . Robert Z. Bohan of the National Association of Manufacturers sums up the position of supporters of the Act's repeal, saying, ' 'Today Davis-Bacon unnecessarily increases the cost of doing business. busi-ness. We believe that the Congress should, take steps to repeal it entirely." Hopefully, Congress will do exactly that. |