Rebuilding... Bush Style

Let us just review what the President recently said:

My attitude is this: The storm didn't discriminate and neither will the recovery effort.

So what has been done since then?

First of all it is important to note that Halliburton inked a deal (September 1st) before "the Cavalry" arrived (September 2nd).

So there shall be no discrimination except amongst bidding contractors with ties to Vice Presidents.

But wait... there's more.

Yesterday, President War Criminal (notice the promotion) signed an executive order removing the control the federal government has over wages paid to workers employed under federal contracts:

President Bush yesterday suspended application of the federal law governing workers' pay on federal contracts in the Hurricane Katrina-damaged areas of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The action infuriated labor leaders and their Democratic supporters in Congress, who said it will lower wages and make it harder for union contractors to win bids.

The Davis-Bacon Act, passed in 1931 during the Great Depression, sets a minimum pay scale for workers on federal contracts by requiring contractors to pay the prevailing or average pay in the region. Suspension of the act will allow contractors to pay lower wages. Many Republicans have opposed Davis-Bacon, charging that it amounts to a taxpayer subsidy to unions.

Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, accused Bush of "using the devastation of Hurricane Katrina to cut the wages of people desperately trying to rebuild their lives and their communities."

Miller said: "In New Orleans, where a quarter of the city was poor, the prevailing wage for construction labor is about $9 per hour, according to the Department of Labor. In effect, President Bush is saying that people should be paid less than $9 an hour to rebuild their communities."

WHOOPS!

Wanna earn a livin' while rebuildin'?

NOT ON MY WATCH!

More at TPM!