WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Representative Diana DeGette (D-CO) sponsored a plan, H.R.3763, the Fair Wages for Hurricane Victims Act, to protect the ability of victims of Hurricane Katrina to earn fair wages. The move came in response to the Bush Administration's suspension of prevailing wage protections in the areas impacted by the hurricane. These protections require companies receiving federal funds to pay its employees the prevailing - union or non-union - wage for similar work in that locality.

"In his speech in New Orleans, President Bush promised the nation that the federal government would do everything possible to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina," Rep. DeGette said. "Many of these people lost their jobs and homes and are beginning the long process of rebuilding their lives. The best thing the President could do for them is ensure that they are able to find decent work at a fair wages."

The prevailing wage protection has been in place since the 1930s and has helped millions of Americans gain access to decent paying private sector jobs. Eliminating prevailing wage protections would not save taxpayer dollars. Instead, it would allow the companies receiving federal funding to make larger profits by pocketing the money they save from paying workers lower wages. This would mean less money for the hurricane victims' to rebuild their lives and less money spent in hurricane-devastated communities.

"The President's action is the wrong policy in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Rep. DeGette. "Workers who have lost everything are desperate for any job they can find, at any wage offered. The federal government should not be in the business of driving wages down and allowing contractors to unfairly exploit the rise in unemployment. The best aid for Hurricane Katrina victims are decent jobs with fair wages, so that they can support their families and rebuild their lives."