PUBLISHED NOV 27, 2018 AT 3:38 PM
In 2017, the Iowa General Assembly passed legislation that authorized the Iowa Department of Transportation to create a “Federal-Aid SWAP” program (Iowa DOT, 2018). This legislation essentially eliminated federal requirements on public infrastructure projects, including the historically bipartisan Federal Davis-Bacon Act which creates a level playing field for all federal construction contractors by ensuring that public expenditures maintain and reflect local area standards for wages and benefits. Under Iowa’s “Federal-Aid SWAP” program, federal dollars that were designated for local construction projects are now retained through the state and fail to include Davis-Bacon Act standards. Local metro planning organizations in Iowa should opt-out of participating in the program.
The main purpose of the Davis-Bacon Act is to support middle-class American families by protecting local standards for compensation and craftsmanship in the competitive public bidding process. Federal construction bidding is not like the private sector. Government procurement agents are required to select the lowest bidder. In the low-bid model used on federally-funded construction projects, contractors aim to lower their bid however possible, including by lowering wages and by reducing apprenticeship training. The Davis-Bacon Act levels the playing field, allowing local contractors and local workers a fair shot at these government projects and incentivizing competition based on core competencies in construction (Duncan et al., 2017).
The Davis-Bacon Act boosts local economies and provides great value to taxpayers. The Davis-Bacon Act protects work for local contractors and construction workers, supports training programs, and provides pathways into the middle class for all blue-collar workers– keeping them off government assistance programs. Local metro planning organizations in Iowa should opt-out of participating in the “Federal-Aid SWAP” program and instead choose to maintain Davis-Bacon Act standards on taxpayer-funded construction projects.