Background: In 1931 the Davis-Bacon Act was adopted to create a "prevailing wage," usually the union rate, for any construction contract over $2,000 funded in whole or in part by the federal government. The benefits of the "prevailing wage," however, go to a very few at the expense of taxpayers and the Act is a prime example of unfunded mandates and government waste. Davis-Bacon inflates the cost of federally funded construction projects by as much as 15%, discourages economic growth, and raises federal spending. In fact, Davis-Bacon Act wages cost taxpayers over $1 billion annually, in addition to the $100...