Sponsor
Jerry Moran
Senator · R-KS
Senator · R-KS
The bill modernizes and clarifies how Davis‑Bacon prevailing wages are determined—making standards more data‑driven and predictable for applicants and agencies—while trading off risks of lower pay for some skilled workers, shifted project costs, increased compliance work, and reduced procedural transparency in parts of implementation.
Construction workers and contractors get clearer, more predictable prevailing‑wage outcomes because determinations will rely more on defined filing‑date triggers and updated data/methods (ties wage rules to the law/data in effect when an FHA or HUD application is filed).
Developers, lenders, and housing agencies face less legal ambiguity—statutory citations are modernized and a clear application‑date trigger reduces retroactive changes and bidding uncertainty.
Federally assisted residential projects can face fewer separate wage determinations (one residential character determination), which can lower administrative costs, reduce disputes, and speed procurement and construction starts for affordable housing.
Skilled construction workers risk lower pay when multiple craft classifications are collapsed into a single "residential character" prevailing‑wage rate or when waivers/streamlining reduce separate craft protections.
Taxpayers, homeowners, renters, and some projects could face higher costs if new geographic groupings or filing‑date lock‑ins produce higher prevailing wages or if higher wages are locked in during long approval periods.
Small firms, lenders, tribal authorities, and government agencies may face increased reporting, compliance, and administrative burdens as survey methods change, filing‑date rules are applied, and agencies must update guidance and procedures.
Based on analysis of 9 sections of legislative text.
Standardizes prevailing‑wage rules for federally assisted residential construction to a single "residential character" wage, updates statutory citations, mandates DOL survey reform, and creates a Davis‑Bacon working group.
Official title: Amend subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code, regarding prevalent wage determinations in order to expand access to affordable housing, and for other purposes.
Introduced November 3, 2025 by Jerry Moran · Last progress November 3, 2025
Updates how federal prevailing wages apply to construction and rehabilitation of federally assisted residential housing, standardizing the wage determination to a single "residential character" rate for covered programs, directing the Labor Department to review and revise its survey methods, and creating a temporary Davis‑Bacon Modernization Working Group to recommend further changes. It also replaces older citations to the Davis‑Bacon Act with references to the current statutory location of prevailing‑wage law in title 40, ties which wage rules apply to the time an application is filed, and signals administrative reform to increase survey reliability and participation.