Washington, DC – Rep. Joe Baca (D-Rialto) voted to protect workers when he voted to reject a Republican attempt to undercut protections that guarantee prevailing wages to workers on federally-funded projects.

During consideration of the Water Quality Financing Act (H.R. 720), which provides assistance for local communities to pay for constructing water treatment facilities, Republicans offered an amendment to waive application of the Davis-Bacon wage law that would require workers on the construction projects to be paid local prevailing wages and benefits.  But House Democrats voted unanimously against the Republican amendment, thereby making sure that workers will receive fair wages.

Rep. Baca said, “I voted to secure good and fair wages for the hard-working men and women who build the projects that help our communities.  Clean drinking water is essential for all families, and the workers on these projects should be able to earn prevailing wages so they can provide for their families too.  The money paid to workers also boosts the local economy when workers spend their earnings in local stores and restaurants and pay local taxes.  In fact one study shows that the economic benefits for San Bernardino are almost two and a half times the amount spent on the actual construction project.”

H.R. 720 was one of three vital water quality bills supported by Rep. Baca and passed by the House last week that authorize billions of dollars to protect American families, preserve the environment, and help cities and states pay for building and improving their water quality infrastructure.  

“Fighting to protect our water quality not only promotes public health, but also creates good-paying jobs, and stimulates economic development,” said Rep. Baca.  “These three water quality bills are essential steps in helping to guarantee clean water for all American families.  In addition to supporting these bills, I will fight to reject the President’s budget proposal to cut $28,270,000 in clean water funds from California.”

In previous years, the Republican leadership of Congress had bottled up similar legislation and refused to bring it to the House floor.  The new Democratic majority has made clean water a priority as the efforts to pass these bills shows.

On Friday the House of Representatives passed H.R. 720 to authorize $14 billion over four years for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund.  This is a vital program for state and local governments that addresses critical water infrastructure needs because it ensures clean water and fosters economic development in local communities by helping pay for building and improving wastewater treatment facilities.  

Rep. Baca said, “The Clean Water Revolving Fund is a top priority of the Democratic-led 110^th Congress, and this bill authorizes a total of $14 billion for the fund over the next four years.  Unfortunately, the Republican-led Congress slashed funding for the Clean Water Revolving Fund by 34 percent over the last few years and now President Bush is proposing slashing it again.”  

Last week the House also passed the Water Quality Investment Act (H.R. 569) to help cities and states build or improve sewer systems that overflow in local communities and the Healthy Communities Water Supply Act (H.R. 700) to encourage innovation in water reclamation, reuse and conservation.  The bill will provide funding for new technologies, including ideas like aquifer storage and retrieval and membrane filtering technologies that have the potential to greatly increase our ability to use water more effectively and efficiently.  The bill will enhance usable water supplies in such areas as California and parts of the Southwest that have long faced chronic water supply shortages amid continuing population booms.    

Earlier in the week, the House also passed the Inland Empire Water Recycling Project (H.R. 122), which will provide federal funding for the planning, designing and constructing the Inland Empire’s regional water recycling project in cooperation with the Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA).  Rep. David Dreier introduced the bill; Rep. Baca co-sponsored it and spoke in support of it prior to the House vote.     

Rep. Baca serves on the Water and Power Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee and has been a leader in Congress to get federal funding to clean up water sources in Inland communities including Colton, Fontana and Rialto that have been contaminated by perchlorate.

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