Public Works Employment Act
PL 95-28 (H.R.11), enacted 05/13/1977

91 STAT. 116 
PUBLIC LAW 95-28—MAY 13, 1977 
Public Law 95-28 
95th Congress 
An Act 
May 13, 1977 
[H.R. 11] 
Local Public 
Works Capital 
Development and 
Investment Act of 
1976, 
authorization 
increase. 
Public Works 
Employment Act 
of 1977. 
42 use 6701 
note. 
42 use 6701. 
Public works 
project. 
Grants and 
contracts, 
requirements. 
42 use 6705. 
Competitive 
bidding. 
Illegal aliens. 
8 use 1101 note. 
U.S.-made 
products. 
To increase the authorization for the Local Public Works Capital Development 
and Investment Act of 1976. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of Atnerlca in Congress 
assembled, 
^ ' • " • ' " • • ' ' '•'" " ^' 
T I T L E I 
SECTION 101. This title may be cited as the "Public Works Employ-
ment Act of 1977". 
SEC. 102. (a) Paragraph (2) of section 102 of the Local Public 
AVorks Capital Development and Investment Act of 1976 is amended 
by striking out "and American Samoa." and inserting in lieu thereof 
the following: "American Samoa, and the Trust Territory of the 
Pacific Islands.". 
(b) Section 102 of such Act is amended by adding at the end thereof 
the following: 
" (4) 'public works project' includes a project for the transpor-
tation and provision of water to a drought-stricken area.". 
SEC. 103. Section 106 of the Local Public Works Capital Develop-
ment and Investment Act of 1976 is amended by adding at the end 
thereof the following new subsections: 
" (e) (1) No part of the construction (including demolition and other 
site preparation activities), renovation, repair, or other improvement 
of any public works project for which a grant is made under this 
Act after the date of enactment of this subsection shall be performed 
directly by any department, agency, or instrumentality of any State 
or local government. Construction of each such project shall be per-
formed by contract awarded by competitive bidding, unless the Sec-
retary shall affirmatively find that, under the circumstances relating 
to such project, some other method is in the public interest. Contracts 
for the construction of each project shall be awarded only on the basis 
of the lowest responsive bid submitted by a bidder meeting established 
criteria of responsibility. No requirement or obligation shall be 
imposed as a condition precedent to the award of a contract to such 
bidder for a project, or to the Secretary's concurrence in the award 
of a contract to such bidder, unless such requirement or obligation 
is otherwise lawful and is specifically set forth in the advertised 
specifications. 
"(2) No grant shall be made under this Act for any local public 
works project unless the State or local government applying for such 
grant submits with its application a certification- acceptable to the Sec-
retary that no contract will be awarded in connection with such proj-
ect to any bidder who will employ on such project any alien in the 
United States in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
or any other law, convention, or treaty of the United States relating 
to the immigration, exclusion, deportation, or explusion of aliens. 
"(f) (1) (A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no grant 
shall be made under this Act for any local public works project unless 
only such unmanufactured articles, materials, and supplies as have 
been mined or produced in the United States, and only such manu-
PUBLIC LAW 95-28—MAY 13, 1977 
91 STAT. 117 
factured articles, materials, and supplies as have been manufactured 
in the United States substantially all from articles, materials, and 
supplies mined, produced, or manufactured, as the case may be, in the 
United States, will be used in such project. 
"(B) Subparagraph (A) of this paragraph shall not apply in any 
case where the Secretary determines it to be inconsistent with the pub-
lic interest, or the cost to be unreasonable, or if articles, materials, or 
supplies of the class or kind to be used or the articles, materials, or 
supplies from which they are manufactured are not mined, produced, 
or manufactured, as the case may be, in the United States in sufficient 
and reasonably available commercial quantities and of a satisfactory 
quality. 
"(2) Except to the extent that the Secretary determines otherwise, 
no grant shall be made under this Act for any local public works proj-
ect unless the applicant gives satisfactory assurance to the Secretary 
that at least 10 per centum of the amount of each grant shall be 
expended for minority business enterprises. For purposes of this para-
graph, the term 'minority business enterprise' means a business at 
least 50 per centum of which is owned by minority group members 
or, in case of a publicly owned business, at least 51 per centum of the 
stock of which is owned by minority group members. For the purposes 
of the preceding sentence, minority group members are citizens of the 
United States who are Negroes, Spanish-speaking, Orientals, Indians, 
Eskimos, and Aleuts. 
"(g) No grant shall be made under this Act for any project for 
which the applicant does not give assurances satisfactory to the Sec-
retary that the project will be designed and constructed in accordance 
with the standards for accessibility for public buildings and facilities 
to the handicapped and elderly under the Act entitled 'An Act to 
insure that certain buildings financed with Federal funds are so 
designed and constructed as to be accessible to the physically handi-
capped', approved August 12, 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4151 et seq.). The 
Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board estab-
lished by the Kehabilitation Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-112) is authorized 
to insure that any construction and renovation done pursuant to any 
grant made under this Act complies with the accessibility standards 
for public bunldings and facilities issued under the Act of August 12, 
1968.". 
SEC. 104. Section 107 of the Local Public Works Capital Develop-
ment and Investment Act of 1976 is amended by inserting after the 
third sentence thereof the following new sentence: "The Secretary, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Labor, and consistent with existing 
applicable collective bargaining agreements and practices, shall pro-
mulgate regulations to assure special consideration to the employment 
in projects under this Act of qualified disabled veterans (as defined 
in section 2011(1) of title 38, United States Code) and qualified 
Vietnam-era veterans (as defined in section 2011(2) (A) of such 
title 38).". 
SEC. 105. Subsection (a) of section 108 of the Local Public Works 
Capital Development and Investment Act of 1976 is amended to read 
as follows: 
"(a) The Secretary shall allocate funds appropriated after the 
date of enactment of the Public Works Employment Act of 1977 
under section 111 of this Act as follows: 
"(1) 214 per centum of such funds shall be set aside and shall 
be expended only for grants for public works projects under this 
Act to Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages. None of the 
Grant allocation 
requirements. 
"Minority 
business 
enterprise." 
Minority group 
members. 
Accessibility 
standards for 
handicapped and 
elderly. 
29 u s e 701 note. 
oVd 
Employment of 
disabled 
veterans, 
regulations. 
42 use 6706. 
Funds, allocation. 
42 u s e 6707. 
Post, p. 119. 
91 STAT. 118 
PUBLIC LAW 95-28—MAY 13, 1977 
remainder of such funds shall be expended for such grants to 
such tribes and villages. 
"(2) After the set aside required by paragraph (1) of this 
subsection, $70,000,000 shall be set aside and expended only for 
grants for any public works project the application for a grant 
for which was made under this Act after the date of enactment 
of this Act and before December 24, 1976, and which application 
was not received, was not considered, or was rejected solely because 
of an error by an officer or employee of the United States. Any 
allocation made to an applicant pursuant to regulation shall be 
reduced by the amount of any grant made to such applicant under 
this paragraph. 
• 
, 
"(3) After the set asides required by paragraphs (1) and (2) 
of this subsection, 65 per centum of such funds shall be allocated 
among the States on the basis of the ratio that the number of 
unemployed persons in each State bears to the total number of 
unemployed persons in all the States and 35 per centum of such 
funds shall be allocated among those States with an average 
unemployment rate for the preceding twelve-month period in 
excess of 6.5 per centum on the basis of the relative severity of 
• 
' '-;" ' 
unemployment in each such State, except that (A) no State shall 
' '' ' 
be allocated less than three-quarters of one per centum or more 
than 1214 per centum of such funds for local public works 
projects within such State, except that in the case of Guam, the 
Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Trust Territory of the 
; 
Pacific Islands, not less than one-half of one per centum in the 
*3ir 
aggregate shall be granted for such projects in all four of these 
jurisdictions, and (B) no State whose unemployment data was 
converted for the first time in 1976 to the benchmark data of the 
current population survey annual average compiled by the Bureau 
of Labor Statistics shall receive a percentage of such funds less 
than the percentage of funds allocated to such State under this 
., 
Act from funds appropriated to carry out this Act prior to the 
date of enactment of the Public Works Employment AJct of 1977.". 
SEC. 106. Subsection (b) of section 108 of the Local Public Works 
42 use 6707. 
Capital Development and Investment Act of 1976 is amended by— 
(1) inserting "(1)" immediately after "(b)"; and 
(2) adding at the end thereof the following new paragraphs: 
"(2) In making grants for projects for construction, renovation, 
repair, or other improvement of buildings, the Secretary shall also 
give consideration as between such building projects to those projects 
; c which will result in conserving energy, including, but not limited to, 
projects to redesign and retrofit existing public facilities for energy 
conservation purposes, and projects using alternative energy systems, 
" (3) In making grants under this Act, the Secretary shall also give 
priority and preference to any public works project requested by a 
State or by a special purpose unit of local government which is 
endorsed by a general purpose local government within such State. 
" '^'' 'j^ 
"(4) A project requested by a school district shall be accorded the 
full priority and preference to public works projects of local govern-
ments provided in section 108(b) of this Act.". 
SEC. 107. (a) The first sentence of subsection (c) of section 108 of 
^ the Local Public Works Capital Development and Investment Act of 
' 
"' 
1976 is amended by striking out "three most recent consecutive months" 
each place it appears and inserting in lieu thereof at each such place 
"twelve most recent consecutive months". 
Waiver. 
(b) Subsection (c) of section 108 of such Act is amended by adding 
PUBLIC LAW 95-28—MAY 13, 1977 
91 STAT. 119 
at the end thereof the following new sentence: "The Secretary may 
waive the application of the first sentence of this subsection to any 
State which receives a minimum allocation pursuant to paragraph (3) 
of subsection (a) of this section." 
(c) Subsection (d) of section 108 of such Act is amended to read 
as follows: 
"(d) Whenever a State or local government submits applications 
for grants under this Act for two or more projects, such State or local 
government shall submit as part of such applications its priority for 
each such pioject.". 
(d) Subsection (e) of section 108 of such Act is amended by strik-
ing out "of direct benefit to," and all that follows down through and 
including the period at the end of the sentence and inserting in lieu 
thereof: "to be constructed in such community or neighborhood.". 
. (e) Subsection (f) of section 108 of such Act is hereby repealed. 
(f) Section 108 of such Act is amended by adding at the end thereof 
the following new subsections: 
"(h) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, 
the Secretary shall not consider or approve or make a grant for any 
project for which any application was not submitted for a grant under 
this Act on or before December 23,1976. 
" (2) The Secretary may receive applications for grants for projects 
under this Act— 
"(A) from the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; 
f 
"(B) from Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages; 
"(C) from any applicant to use any allocation which may be 
made pursuant to regulation, to the extent necessary to expend 
; 
such allocation, if a sufficient number of applications were not 
: 
submitted on or before December 23, 1976, to use such allocation. 
"(i) The Secretary may allow any applicant which has received 
a grant for a project under this Act to substitute one or more projects 
for such project if in the judgment of the Secretary (1) the Federal 
cost in the aggregate of such substituted project or projects does not 
exceed such grant, (2) such substituted project or projects comply with 
section 106(d) of this Act, and (3) such substituted project or projects 
will in fact aid in alleviating drought or other emergency or disaster-
related conditions or damage. Section 106(a) of this Act shall not 
apply to projects substituted under this subsection. 
" (j) Notwithstanding subsection (h)(1) of this section, grants may 
be made from appropriations made under section 111 of this Act after 
September 30,1977, to States or local governments for projects for the 
construction, renovation, repair, or other improvements of health care 
or rehabilitation facilities owned and operated by private nonprofit 
entities.". 
SEC. 108. The first sentence of section 109 of the Local Public Works 
Capital Development and Investment Act of 1976 is amended by strik-
ing out "by contractors or subcontractors". 
SEC. 109. Section 111 of the Local Public Works Capital Develop-
ment and Investment Act of 1976 is amended by striking out 
''$2,000,000,000 for the period ending September 30, 1977," and insert-
ing in lieu thereof "$6,000,000,000 for the period ending December 31, 
1978,". 
SEC. 110. (a) The Secretary of Commerce is authorized and directed 
to study public works investment in the United States and the impli-
cations for the future of recent trends in such investment. 
(b) The study authorized by this section shall include, but not be 
limited to, the following: 
42 use 6707. 
Repeal. 
Ante, p. 118. 
Post, p. 120. 
42 use 6708. 
42 use 6710. 
Public works 
investment, 
study. 
42 use 6701 
note. 
91 STAT. 120 
PUBLIC LAW 95-28—MAY 13, 1977 
Report to 
Congress. 
42 use 6710 
note. 
Funds, 
prohibition. 
42 use 6710. 
' • 
(1) The historical scope and nature of public works invest-
; 'f ment, including— 
• 
(A) shifts in the types of public facilities constructed over 
the last thirty years and the implications of such shifts; 
• ' f' 
(B) the patterns of regional distribution of investment; 
(C) the role of the Federal Government, States, and local 
'' 
communities in funding public facilities; 
(D) the impact upon unemployment in minority groups. 
'' 
(2) The proportion of the gross national product devoted to 
public works investment over the last thirty years. 
(3) Methods by which the aggregate need for public works can 
'• ' be determined. 
(4) How public works are financed and how financing arrange-
ments affect the pattern and type of investment. 
(5) The level of maintenance or renovation of existing public 
facilities needed, compared to that provided. 
(c) The Secretary of Commence shall submit to Congress a report 
with respect to its findings and recommendations no later than eighteen 
months after the date of enactment of this section. A preliminary 
report putting forth the study design shall be submitted to Congress 
within four months after the date of enactment of this section. 
SEC. 111. The Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the 
Interior shall immediately initiate the construction of those Federal 
public works projects (A) which are the responsibility of their respec-
tive departments, (B) which have been authorized, and (C) which 
can be commenced within 60 days of the date of enactment of this 
section and completed no later than the 180th day after commence-
ment of construction. No funds authorized by section 111 of the Local 
Public Works Capital Development and Investment Act of 1976 
(Public Law 94r-369) may be used to carry out this section. 
90 Stat. 889. 
90 Stat. 851. 
31 use 1301 
note. 
Budget deferrals 
and rescissions, 
exception. 
T I T L E I I — F E D E R A L P U B L I C W O R K S 
P R O J E C T S 
C O N T I N U A T I O N 
SEC. 201. The Congress hereby finds and declares that: 
(A) the construction projects listed in Public Law 94-355, the 
Public Works for Water and Power Development and Energy 
Research Appropriations Act, 1977, and in Public Law 94-351, 
the Agriculture and Related Agencies Programs Appropriations 
Act, 1977, represent the foundation of our national public 
works activity. Such projects are essential to the reduction of 
unemployment; 
(B) such projects provide long-term benefits to communities, 
to States, and to the entire Nation in terms of water management, 
flood control, navigation, recreation, and enhanced economic 
activity; and 
(C) such projects have been authorized by the Congress after 
protracted hearings and consideration extended over many years. 
, Appropriations have been made and are being made pursuant 
, < thereto. I t is the judgment of Congress that such projects should 
not be discontinued except by following the legislative process 
r„ 
provided by the Constitution of the United States and the pro-
visions of Public Law 93-344, the Congressional Budget and 
Impoundment Control Act of 1974. 
SEC. 202. Notwithstanding the deferral and rescission provisions of 
Public Law 93-344, all appropriations provided in Public Laws 
94-355 and 94-351 for construction projects or for investigation, plan-
PUBLIC LAW 95-28—MAY 13, 1977 
91 STAT. 121 
ning, or design related to construction projects shall be made available 
for obligation by the President and expended for the purposes for 
which the appropriations are made, with the exception of those 
appropriations or expenditures relating to the Meramec Park Lake 
project in Missouri. 
SEC. 203. With the exception noted relating to the Meramec Park 
Lake project in Missouri, section 202 of this Act shall be equivalent 
to and have the legal effect of a resolution disapproving any deferral 
of budget authority previously provided for construction projects in 
Public Law 93-355 or in any prior law appropriating funds for the 
United States Army Corps of Engineers or the Department of the 
Interior Bureau of Reclamation, or for construction projects in Public 
Law 94-351 or any prior law appropriating funds for construction 
projects in the Department of Agriculture as provided for in section 
1013(b) of Public Law 93-344, the Congressional Budget and 
Impoundment Control Act of 1974. With the exception noted relating 
to the Meramec Park Lake project in Missouri, section 202 is also 
equivalent to a congressional statement of intent not to uphold any 
rescission of budget authority with regard to funds appropriated for 
construction projects in Public Law 94-355 or Public Law 94-351 or 
for construction projects in any prior law appropriating funds for the 
United States Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the 
Interior Bui-eau of Reclamation, or the Department of Agriculture, 
as provided for in section 1012(b) of Public Law 93-344. 
SEC. 204. It is hereby reiterated that the interest rates or rates of 
discount to be used to assess the return on the Federal Government's 
investment in projects of the United States Army Corps of Engineers 
or the Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation, shall be 
those interest rates or rates of discount established by Public Law 
93-251, the Water Resources Development Act of 1974, or by any 
prior law authorizing projects of the United States Army Corps of 
Engineers or the Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation. 
Approved May 13, 1977. 
A I 
90 Stat. 889. 
90 Stat. 851. 
31 u s e 1403. 
Ante, p. 120. 
31 u s e 1402. 
Interest rates 
and rates of 
discount. 
42 use 
1962d-17 note. 
88 Stat. 12. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 95-20 (Comm. on Public Works and Transportation) and No. 
95-230 (eomm. of eonference). 
SENATE REPORTS: No. 95-38 accompanying S. 427 (eomm. on Environment and 
Public Works) and No. 95-110 (eomm. of eonference). 
eONGRESSIONAL REeORD, Vol. 123 (1977): 
Feb. 24, considered and passed House. 
Mar. 10, considered and passed Senate, amended, in lieu of S. 427. 
Apr. 5, House concurred in Senate amendment with an amendment. 
Apr. 28, 29, Senate agreed to conference report. 
May 3, House agreed to conference report. 
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS, Vol. 13, No. 20: 
May 13, Presidential statement.