Hire more Heroes Act of 2015 - Transportation infrastructure

Floor Speech

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Mr. KILDEE. I thank the ranking member.
Mr. Chairman, this is actually a pretty simple question, and I know
my friend from Iowa tends to see this question through the lens of his
own personal experience and his own company, but, frankly, this is a
bigger question than that.

I think it is right that the Federal Government has a stake in how it
spends its money and that the Federal Government ought to be able to
say that when we fund construction projects, we don't want contractors
to simply pick the cheapest labor they can. Sure, we may want to build
more roads, but we want to make sure those roads last. It is not just a
matter of how many miles you build, but whether or not they are going
to be done in a way that makes sure that the quality of the work
matches the investment that this country is making.

So, Mr. Chairman, I understand the gentleman's point. I can just tell
you about my own experience having done development and construction in
one of the toughest markets in America, big construction and small
jobs. I always knew when we paid a prevailing wage that the work was
going to be done on time and it was going to be done with quality.

When it comes to the Federal dollar, doesn't it seem to me and all of
us here that cheap is not always better, and that we owe it to the
American people to deliver to them a product that is consistent with
the quality that they would like to see in their own home? When you go
to buy material or when you go to hire a contractor yourself for your
own home, you don't say to yourself, ``Who is the lowest cost provider
I can get?'' You want to make sure the job is done right.

Secondly, the American people need a raise. We don't need the Federal
Government to participate in this race to the bottom in undercutting
local economies by paying people less than they are worth. We have lost
enough in this country. It is time to end this.

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