Great News: Davis-Bacon Reinstated

This is really good for New Orleanians and the American worker:

The Bush administration will reinstate rules requiring that companies awarded federal contracts for Hurricane Katrina pay prevailing wages, usually an amount close to the pay scales in local union contracts.

Representative Peter King of New York was among congressmen critical of the administration's decision to waive the requirement and who met today with White House chief of staff Andrew Card. He said Card told them the wage requirement would be reinstated November eighth.

Maybe the no-bid contractors will have to pony up some of the cash cow they get to the labor force that actually does the work, instead of hording it for themselves.

This is great news, and this also shows the dwindling of the President's political capital. People aren't afraid to take him on anymore. He can't get away with ripping off the American worker anymore. Even members of his own party, mindful of their own re-elections, won't let him get away with that.

Rep. George Miller of California led the fight for this on the House floor (which would have led to an embarrassing number of GOP defectors; embarrassing for the White House, that is), and he deserves praise.