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To: Constant Reader who wrote (1)	9/9/2005 2:04:14 PM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2253

I found this interesting. I don't have a clue as to whether or not this is a good idea or not. I'm out of my league here. But I found it interesting that, with all the complaints about the government not cutting through the red tape to respond more quickly, Bush chose this time to chuck the red tape entirely. Karen -------------- Bush Suspends Pay Act In Areas Hit by Storm By Thomas B. Edsall Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, September 9, 2005; Page D03 President Bush yesterday suspended application of the federal law governing workers' pay on federal contracts in the Hurricane Katrina-damaged areas of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The action infuriated labor leaders and their Democratic supporters in Congress, who said it will lower wages and make it harder for union contractors to win bids. The Davis-Bacon Act, passed in 1931 during the Great Depression, sets a minimum pay scale for workers on federal contracts by requiring contractors to pay the prevailing or average pay in the region. Suspension of the act will allow contractors to pay lower wages. Many Republicans have opposed Davis-Bacon, charging that it amounts to a taxpayer subsidy to unions. AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney sharply criticized the president's suspension of the Davis-Bacon Act. AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney sharply criticized the president's suspension of the Davis-Bacon Act. (John Locher - AP) Who's Blogging? Read what bloggers are saying about this article. * The Irish Trojan's blog - Brendan Loy's homepage Full List of Blogs (1 links) » In a letter to Congress, Bush said he has the power to suspend the law because of the national emergency caused by the hurricane: "I have found that the conditions caused by Hurricane Katrina constitute a 'national emergency.' " Bush wrote that his decision is justified because Davis-Bacon increases construction costs, and suspension "will result in greater assistance to these devastated communities and will permit the employment of thousands of additional individuals." AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney denounced the Bush announcement as "outrageous." "Employers are all too eager to exploit workers," he said. "This is no time to make that easier. What a double tragedy it would be to allow the destruction of Hurricane Katrina to depress living standards even further." Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, accused Bush of "using the devastation of Hurricane Katrina to cut the wages of people desperately trying to rebuild their lives and their communities." Miller said: "In New Orleans, where a quarter of the city was poor, the prevailing wage for construction labor is about $9 per hour, according to the Department of Labor. In effect, President Bush is saying that people should be paid less than $9 an hour to rebuild their communities."

To: Constant Reader who wrote (1)	9/9/2005 5:09:54 PM
From: KLP	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2253

Hi CR....Brought in a new plate of chocolate chip cookies, grabbed a cuppa, and found a nice comfortable chair...Thanks. I often agree with Krauthammer, and find this time, not much exception to that. I wondered outloud on another thread this morning if people, just the average citizen in this country, will now stop and think about States Rights, and the separation of State and Federal Government. IF the State of LA alone was handling this mega-tragedy, how many more people would have died? and How many more could have been saved if the Gov of LA would have let the Feds in right away without having "to think about for 24 hours"..... I also wonder that because all electric power was down, cells and phone lines were down, megaparts of the city were flooded the day after the hurricane (when of course, nothing could move on any of the streets without being blown away)...AND only one freeway was open, AND both airports were closed.... What equipment/supplies/food and water, could have been brought in by the Feds or anyone else for that matter, any sooner? It makes me wonder what would happen in our own communities if a similar occurrence happened...say in Seattle's case, a major earthquake worse than the LA big one, and a tsunami at the same time.... or heaven forbid, a large attack on our ports by a bomb.... Even if they wanted to help, how could they? I've said so many times before, we NEED to educate each person in our community on what to do in case of a true disaster, as Katrina nd the floods that follow were.... I think there is plenty of blame to go around, BUT rather than blame, we need to identify the PROBLEMS that occurred, list them, and the people/Departments now who are (or were to have done so)...and then see where we are to change things.