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   (Mr. BALLENGER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

   Mr. BALLENGER. Mr. Speaker, in 1992, after the Hurricane Andrew hit south Florida, President Bush suspended the Davis-Bacon law with regard to the clean-up and rehabilitation work receiving funds. President Clinton revoked that suspension when he got into office, so it never really was tested to see whether it would help get clean-up work done quicker and cheaper. I have been pushing President Clinton to waive the Davis-Bacon Act for clean-up efforts in Hurricane Floyd in my State of North Carolina and elsewhere and even sent him a letter signed by many Members of the House.

   Waiving Davis-Bacon would not only save scarce Federal resources, but it would also save time in getting contractors out and create job opportunities for those in need of work. Unfortunately, I do not think I am going to get this administration to agree with me, even though it could save our taxpayers millions of dollars.

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