Did you miss this week's issue of NTUF's Taxpayer's Tab? If so, here's a quick recap.
Senator Frank Lautenberg (NJ) has sponsored S. 1517, the 21st Century WPA Act, to get unemployed Americans back to work. Similar to the original Depression-era program, the new Works Progress Administration would employ out-of-work individuals on projects proposed by different government departments and agencies. S. 1517 would also establish fellowships to provide private businesses with skilled workers. At a cost of $250 billion over two years, or $125 billion a year, S. 1517 is this week's "Most Expensive Bill of the Week."
Other Tab highlights include: Congressman Steve King (IA-5) and Congressman Connie Mack (FL-14) have both introduced bills (H.R. 745 and H.R. 746) to repeal the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931. The Act established a system to guarantee that workers would receive reasonable wages for publicly-funded building projects and that they would not be shut out of the bidding process if competitors used cheaper labor. Critics of the Act contend that its prevailing wage system inflates project costs to taxpayers. The repeal of Davis-Bacon could save taxpayers money and is this week's "Least Expensive Bill of the Week."
The "Most Friended" bill is H.R. 1744, American Job Protection Act, sponsored by Congressman Charles Boustany (LA-7). The bill would repeal the employer health insurance mandate contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. By repealing the coverage mandate, businesses would once again have the choice to provide or not provide health benefits to employees and their families.
Congressman Edward Markey (MA-7) introduced H.R. 2861, National Amusement Park Ride Safety Act of 2011, to give the Consumer Product Safety Commission the authority to inspect amusement park rides that are fixed to one location. Currently, the Commission oversees the safety of rides that can be moved from location to location, such as those seen at many county fairs. Forty-five states currently fixed-location amusement rides. H.R 2861 is this week's "Wildcard" bill.
For more details, including NTUF's preliminary cost estimates for each of these bills, read the entire Taxpayer's Tab online.
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