II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3941 

To 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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 28, 2022 

Mr. THUNE (for himself and Mr. MORAN) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To 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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Housing Supply Ex5 pansion Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. UPDATES TO WAGE RATE CALCULATIONS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3142(b) of title 40, 

8 United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘or from geoVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Mar 29, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3941.IS S3941

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1 graphic groupings other than civil subdivisions of the 

2 State (which may include metropolitan statistical areas or 

3 other groupings determined appropriate by the Sec4 retary)’’ after ‘‘in which the work is to be performed’’. 

5 (b) CHANGES TO SURVEY METHODOLOGY.—Section 

6 3142 of title 40, United States Code, is amended by add7 ing at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(f) SURVEY INFORMATION COLLECTION.—By not 

9 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Hous10 ing Supply Expansion Act, the Secretary shall— 

11 ‘‘(1) review the Secretary’s method of collecting 

12 survey information for determining prevailing wages 

13 for purposes of subsection (a); and 

14 ‘‘(2) revise how such survey information is col15 lected, following a public notice and opportunity for 

16 public comment, by— 

17 ‘‘(A) including surveys that allow for reli18 able and objective sources of data and a defend19 able methodology, which may include informa20 tion collected through Bureau of Labor Statis21 tics surveys; and 

22 ‘‘(B) improving the percentage of busi23 nesses choosing to participate in prevailing 

24 wage determination surveys and ensuring pro25 portional representation of businesses repVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Mar 29, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3941.IS S3941

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1 resented by labor organizations and businesses 

2 not represented by labor organizations in the 

3 prevailing wage determination surveys that are 

4 completed.’’. 

5 SEC. 3. MULTIPLE WAGE RATE DETERMINATIONS. 

6 Section 3142 of title 40, United States Code, as 

7 amended by section 2, is further amended by adding at 

8 the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(g) FEDERAL HOUSING ACTS.—A determination of 

10 prevailing wages by the Secretary of Labor applicable 

11 under section 212(a) of the National Housing Act (12 

12 U.S.C. 1715c(a)), section 104(b)(1) of the Native Amer13 ican Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act of 

14 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4114(b)(1)), section 12(a) of the United 

15 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437j(a)), or sec16 tion 811(j)(5) of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Afford17 able Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013(j)(5)) shall be limited 

18 to 1 wage rate determination under subsection (b) of this 

19 section that corresponds to the overall residential char20 acter of the project.’’. 

21 SEC. 4. DAVIS-BACON MODERNIZATION WORKING GROUP. 

22 (a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘Davis23 Bacon Modernization Working Group’’ means the working 

24 group established under subsection (b)(1). 

25 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

3 Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of Housing 

4 and Urban Development, shall establish within the 

5 Department of Labor, a Davis-Bacon Modernization 

6 Working Group to recommend the update and mod7 ernization of certain requirements under subchapter 

8 IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code, as 

9 described in subsection (c). 

10 (2) DATE OF ESTABLISHMENT.—The Davis11 Bacon Modernization Working Group shall be con12 sidered established on the date on which a majority 

13 of the members of the Davis-Bacon Working Group 

14 have been appointed, consistent with subsection (d). 

15 (c) DUTIES.—The Davis-Bacon Modernization Work16 ing Group shall— 

17 (1) recommend whether, and if so by how 

18 much, the residential classification can be applied to 

19 affordable housing units with 5 stories or more for 

20 purposes of prevailing wage determinations under 

21 subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United 

22 States Code; 

23 (2) develop administrative and legislative rec24 ommendations of ways, and for what specific cir25 cumstances in which, the prevailing wage rate reVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Mar 29, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3941.IS S3941

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1 quirements under subchapter IV of chapter 31 of 

2 title 40, United States Code, could be waived or 

3 streamlined for certain affordable rental Federal 

4 Housing Administration new construction projects; 

5 and 

6 (3) review the potential positive and negative 

7 outcomes of directing the Bureau of Labor Statistics 

8 to determine prevailing wages (rather that the Sec9 retary of Labor under section 3142(b) of title 40, 

10 United States Code), in a way that would not rely 

11 on the collection of voluntary surveys from busi12 nesses but rather on data that is already collected 

13 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

14 (d) MEMBERS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Davis-Bacon Mod16 ernization Working Group shall be composed of the 

17 following representatives of Federal agencies and 

18 relevant non-Federal industry stakeholder organiza19 tions: 

20 (A) A representative from the Department 

21 of Labor, appointed by the Secretary of Labor. 

22 (B) A representative from the Department 

23 of Housing and Urban Development, appointed 

24 by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel25 opment. 


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1 (C) A representative of a housing construc2 tion industry association, appointed by the Sec3 retary of Labor in consultation with the Sec4 retary of Housing and Urban Development. 

5 (D) A representative of a financial services 

6 industry association, appointed by the Secretary 

7 of Labor in consultation with the Secretary of 

8 Housing and Urban Development. 

9 (E) A representative of an affordable hous10 ing industry association, appointed by the Sec11 retary of Labor in consultation with the Sec12 retary of Housing and Urban Development. 

13 (F) A representative of a State public 

14 housing agency, as defined in section 3 of the 

15 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

16 1437a), appointed by the Secretary of Labor in 

17 consultation with the Secretary of Housing and 

18 Urban Development. 

19 (G) A representative of a tribally des20 ignated housing entity, as defined in section 4 

21 of the Native American Housing Assistance and 

22 Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 

23 4103), appointed by the Secretary of Labor in 

24 consultation with the Secretary of Housing and 

25 Urban Development. 


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1 (H) A representative of a labor organiza2 tion representing the housing construction 

3 workforce, appointed by the Secretary of Labor 

4 in consultation with the Secretary of Housing 

5 and Urban Development. 

6 (2) CHAIR.—The representative from the De7 partment of Labor appointed under paragraph 

8 (1)(A) shall serve as the chair of the Davis-Bacon 

9 Modernization Working Group, and that representa10 tive shall be responsible for organizing the business 

11 of the Davis-Bacon Modernization Working Group. 

12 (e) OTHER MATTERS.— 

13 (1) NO COMPENSATION.—A member of the 

14 Davis-Bacon Modernization Working Group shall 

15 serve without compensation. 

16 (2) SUPPORT.—The Secretary of Labor may 

17 detail an employee of the Department of Labor to 

18 assist and support the work of the Davis-Bacon 

19 Modernization Working Group, though such a 

20 detailee shall not be considered to be a member of 

21 the Davis-Bacon Modernization Working Group. 

22 (f) REPORT.— 

23 (1) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

24 date on which the Davis-Bacon Modernization Work25 ing Group is established, the Davis-Bacon ModVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 Mar 29, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3941.IS S3941

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1 ernization Working Group shall submit a report con2 taining its findings and recommendations under sub3 section (c), including recommendations resulting 

4 from the review under subsection (c)(3), to the Sec5 retary of Labor, the Committee on Health, Edu6 cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the 

7 Committee on Education and Labor of the House of 

8 Representatives. 

9 (2) MAJORITY SUPPORT.—Each recommenda10 tion made under paragraph (1) shall be agreed to by 

11 a majority of the members of the Davis-Bacon Mod12 ernization Working Group. 

13 (g) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The Federal Ad14 visory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to 

15 the Davis-Bacon Modernization Working Group. 

16 (h) SUNSET.—The Davis-Bacon Modernization 

17 Working Group shall terminate on the date the report is 

18 completed under subsection (f)(1). 

19 SEC. 5. NATIONAL HOUSING ACT. 

20 Section 212(a) of the National Housing Act (12 

21 U.S.C. 1715c(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘similar char22 acter, as determined by the Secretary of Labor in accord23 ance with the Davis-Bacon Act, as amended (40 U.S.C. 

24 276a—276a–5)’’ and inserting ‘‘residential character, as 

25 determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with 


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1 subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States 

2 Code, that is applicable at the time the application is 

3 filed’’. 

4 SEC. 6. HOUSING ACT OF 1959. 

5 Section 202(j)(5)(A) of the Housing Act of 1959 (12 

6 U.S.C. 1701q(j)(5)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘similar 

7 character, as determined by the Secretary of Labor in ac8 cordance with the Act of March 3, 1931 (commonly known 

9 as the Davis-Bacon Act)’’ and inserting ‘‘residential char10 acter, as determined by the Secretary of Labor in accord11 ance with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United 

12 States Code, that is applicable at the time the application 

13 is filed’’. 

14 SEC. 7. NATIVE AMERICAN HOUSING ASSISTANCE AND 

15 SELF-DETERMINATION ACT OF 1996. 

16 Section 104(b)(1) of the Native American Housing 

17 Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 

18 4114(b)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘, as predetermined 

19 by the Secretary of Labor pursuant to the Act of March 

20 3, 1931 (commonly known as the Davis-Bacon Act; chap21 ter 411; 46 Stat. 1494; 40 U.S.C. 276a et seq.),’’ and 

22 inserting ‘‘for corresponding classes of laborers and me23 chanics employed on construction of a residential char24 acter, as predetermined by the Secretary of Labor pursu25 ant to subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United 


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1 States Code, that is applicable at the time the application 

2 is filed’’. 

3 SEC. 8. CRANSTON-GONZALEZ NATIONAL AFFORDABLE 

4 HOUSING ACT. 

5 Section 811(j)(5)(A) of the Cranston-Gonzalez Na6 tional Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013(j)(5)(A)) 

7 is amended by striking ‘‘similar character, as determined 

8 by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with the Act of 

9 March 3, 1931 (commonly known as the Davis-Bacon 

10 Act)’’ and inserting ‘‘residential character, as determined 

11 by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with subchapter 

12 IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code, that is 

13 applicable at the time the application is filed’’. 

14 SEC. 9. UNITED STATES HOUSING ACT OF 1937. 

15 Section 12(a) of the United States Housing Act of 

16 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437j(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘, as 

17 predetermined by the Secretary of Labor pursuant to the 

18 Davis-Bacon Act (49 Stat. 1011)’’ and inserting ‘‘for cor19 responding classes of laborers and mechanics employed on 

20 construction of a residential character, as predetermined 

21 by the Secretary of Labor pursuant to subchapter IV of 

22 chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code, that is applica23 ble at the time the application is filed’’. 

Æ 


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