On February 12, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz) reintroduced the proposed Responsibility in Federal Contracting Act (H.R. 924).  This bill would amend the Davis-Bacon Act by eliminating the survey process used by U.S. DOL to determine prevailing wage rates.  Gosar noted that the U.S. DOL Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) already collects data on national wages and employment.  As a consequence, BLS is the "only agency capable of accurately determining wages" according to Gosar.  He also noted that the current survey process is so inefficient that the prevailing wage in some parts of the country is "as much as 75% higher than the average wage in that area."  In addition, prevailing wages "may be 22% higher than market construction wages" according to Gosar.  Gosar introduced a previous version of the bill in February, 2013 but the bill never made it to the House floor for debate.  If passed, this bill would be a watershed change in the way Davis-Bacon wage rates are determined.  Stay tuned.   
                                                                                    By Jerry Pigsley