Local residents should get rebuilding contracts

Recently, Robert Aderholt (4th district) and Mo Brooks (5th district) beseeched President Obama to suspend the Davis-Bacon Act in Alabama in order to “to remove harmful and oppressive regulations from businesses attempting to rebuild in the wake of last month’s devastating storms.”

The Davis-Bacon Act was passed in 1931 by a Republican President and a Republican Congress after a contractor employed African-American workers from Alabama to build a Veteran’s hospital in New York.

As I understand it, the intent of this bill was to assure workers a fair wage, provide local contractors a fair opportunity to compete for local government contracts and to preserve its (Congress) ability to distribute money (bring home the pork).

I know individuals today, in Hackleburg, Ala., who have signed a four month work contract with FEMA. They are journeymen carpenters and are paid slightly more than $20 per hour, a good sum for these folks and probably a few dollars more than usual for them.

Many of these folks have lost everything. They need this work.

However, our representatives in Washington want to deny these opportunities to these local folks. They want to arm twist FEMA to give this work to outside contractors (at the same price) whom will hire outsiders at a lower rate. These contractors will profit and make campaign contributions to these two yahoo’s in Washington.

Secondly, this bill only addresses government contracts, not individuals or private companies.

The Bo and Bob show (B & B) needs to just fade away like the bad actors they are.

Rick Neighbors, Hackleburg