Presidents wage cut may be illegal

President’s Davis-Bacon Suspension May Have Been Illegal, Says Congressional Research Service Friday, September 16, 2005    WASHINGTON, DC -- The Congressional Research Service reported late yesterday that President Bush’s suspension of wage standards for workers in the Gulf Coast may have been illegal. Representative George Miller (D-CA) said today that the Bush Administration, in its rush to undermine workers’ wages, may have done so without first declaring a national emergency, as the law requires. “President Bush was in such a hurry to cut workers’ wages that he did it even before declaring a national emergency. This may mean that the President’s wage proclamation was done illegally. Contractors in the Gulf Coast should be aware that the President’s proclamation may not protect them from liability if they choose to ignore the law and pay workers less than the prevailing wage,” said Miller, the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, which oversees federal labor law. “The Bush Administration first made mistakes when it was too slow to respond to rising floodwaters; then it made mistakes when it was too quick to slash workers’ wages. Read more at : Committee on Education and the Workforce The TPMCafe writes on this issue here: The President's Gulf Coast Wage Cut and Davis-Bacon: GOP Congressmen Facing the Music in Six Months?