Hire more Heroes Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the
amendment.

For over 75 years, the Davis-Bacon Act has been protecting middle
class families and taxpayers.

As a son of a union worker in Snohomish County, Washington, I know
how important prevailing wages can be for middle class families.
A prevailing wage is not necessarily a union wage--it's set by the
Department of Labor after surveying local labor.

But it's a living wage, one that has helped build middle class
economies in my district in places like Everett and Lynnwood.
Davis-Bacon standards also ensure that taxpayers are getting their
money's worth when it comes to construction projects.

By paying a decent wage, Davis-Bacon projects are built by more
experienced and more productive construction workers.
The result is better built, longer lasting projects that save money
over their lifetime which is especially important because poor and
crumbling infrastructure hurts everyone.

We shouldn't cut corners when it comes to our transportation
infrastructure, and we shouldn't cut corners when it comes to hiring
construction workers.

The amendment before us would do just that.
Workers deserve to be paid fair wages.
I ask my colleagues to support middle class families by voting
against this amendment.

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Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I have heard from many
midsize cities in my district that they often struggle to compete with
larger cities for Federal transportation funding.

While the needs of midsize cities are just as significant as those of
larger cities, the administrative burden of accessing TIGER grants or
TIFIA loans is often too great. My amendment addresses that difficulty
by improving access to TIFIA loans.

While TIFIA is a great funding source for bigger projects, sponsors
of smaller projects can be discouraged from using it because the
application process is complicated and requires more resources than
these cities can muster.

My amendment would require the Secretary to provide an expedited
process for TIFIA applications that are less than $100 million and
backed by real revenue. These are smaller, lower risk projects that
aren't happening because States and localities might be scared off by
the long and involved TIFIA loan application process.

By creating an expedited process for these smaller, lower risk
projects, we can open access to Federal resources for smaller cities
and counties that we represent.

This is a streamlined amendment that puts more power in the hands of
State and local governments, something I know that my colleagues can
support.

I appreciate that Chairman Shuster and Ranking Member DeFazio have
made other improvements to the TIFIA process in the underlying bill,
and my amendment complements these improvements in a straightforward
way. I would appreciate the support of the leadership on the committee
for this amendment.

I ask support of my amendment.
I reserve the balance of my time.

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