U.s. Rep. Abby Finkenauer Seeks To End ‘loophole’ In Iowa Use Of Federal Transportation Funds

Continuing a fight she started as a member of the Iowa House, U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer is introducing legislation to promote using American-made construction materials and paying construction workers the local prevailing wage.Finkenauer, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, is offering the Stop Swaps, Protect Local Jobs Act to prevent states and local governments from using “fund swapping” to avoid federal labor and purchasing requirements on federally funded projects.Her legislation, which the first-term Democrat hopes will be included in a larger surface transportation bill, would close what she calls a loophole that allows states, including Iowa, to circumvent provisions and federal infrastructure funding that require paying fair wages, such as in the Davis-Bacon Act and made-in-America provisions.“The whole point of this is to be able to keep jobs local, to make sure that we’re supporting our local manufacturers as we do it,” said Finkenauer, who chairs the subcommittee on highways and transit.Finkenauer, who is running for re-election, anticipates Congress will approve a large funding package to address infrastructure needs and provide an economic stimulus to help the nation recover from the business shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.“If we’re going to be making those large investments in infrastructure that are intended to create good-paying jobs to stimulate our economy, we better be protecting the provision that does that,” Finkenauer said.The issue isn’t new to Finkenauer.