Bill Summary
The "Affordable Housing Expansion Act" aims to amend existing federal laws governing prevailing wage determinations to enhance access to affordable housing. Key provisions of the legislation include:
1. **Wage Rate Calculations**: The Act revises how prevailing wage rates are determined, allowing data from different geographic groupings (like metropolitan areas) to inform wage decisions, provided that data from metropolitan labor markets is not used for non-metropolitan areas.
2. **Survey Methodology Improvements**: It mandates the Secretary of Labor to review and improve methods for collecting survey data on wages, ensuring a more reliable and representative process that includes diverse business participation.
3. **Multiple Wage Rate Determinations**: The legislation limits wage rate determinations for specific federal housing acts to one rate that reflects the overall residential nature of a project, simplifying compliance for affordable housing initiatives.
4. **Davis-Bacon Modernization Working Group**: A new working group will be established to propose updates to wage determination requirements, particularly for affordable housing projects. This group will evaluate potential streamlining of wage requirements and consider new methodologies for prevailing wage determination.
5. **Amendments to Related Housing Acts**: The Act includes amendments to several housing laws to ensure consistency with the new prevailing wage determinations, specifying that wage rates will be based on residential character rather than similar character.
Overall, the legislation seeks to streamline wage determination processes and enhance the feasibility of affordable housing projects by ensuring that wage rates are more appropriately aligned with regional labor markets.
Possible Impacts
The "Affordable Housing Expansion Act" outlined in the legislation could affect people in several significant ways. Here are three examples:
1. **Increased Access to Affordable Housing**: By amending wage determinations and potentially lowering construction costs through streamlined regulations, the Act aims to make affordable housing projects more economically viable. This could lead to an increase in the availability of affordable housing units, benefitting low- and moderate-income families who struggle to find suitable housing within their budget.
2. **Impact on Wages for Construction Workers**: The Act includes provisions for updating how prevailing wages are determined and collected. This could lead to either an increase or decrease in wages for construction workers, depending on how the new methodologies are implemented. Increased participation from businesses in wage surveys might improve wage standards in some areas, while in others, it could lead to lower compensation if wage determinations are based on less favorable data.
3. **Creation of a Davis-Bacon Modernization Working Group**: The establishment of this group could lead to significant changes in how prevailing wage laws are applied within affordable housing projects. The recommendations made by the group could streamline regulations, potentially reducing the time and costs associated with compliance for developers, which could, in turn, stimulate more housing development. However, it could also raise concerns among labor organizations about protecting workers' rights and ensuring fair wages in the construction industry.
These examples illustrate the potential broad impacts of the legislation on housing availability, worker wages, and regulatory practices in the construction sector.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3092 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3092
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
November 3, 2025
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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Affordable Housing Expansion Act''.
SEC. 2. UPDATES TO WAGE RATE CALCULATIONS.
(a) In General.--Section 3142(b) of title 40, United States Code,
is amended--
(1) by striking ``work in the civil'' and inserting the
following: ``work--
``(1)(A) in the civil''; and
(2) by striking ``, or in the District'' and inserting the
following: ``; or
``(B) from geographic groupings other than civil
subdivisions of the State (which may include metropolitan
statistical areas or other groupings determined appropriate by
the Secretary), as long as projects in metropolitan labor
markets are not used as a source of data for a wage
determination in a nonmetropolitan labor market; or
``(2) in the District''.
(b) Changes to Survey Methodology.--Section 3142 of title 40,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(f) Survey Information Collection.--By not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of the Affordable Housing Expansion Act,
the Secretary shall--
``(1) review the Secretary's method of collecting survey
information for determining prevailing wages for purposes of
subsection (a); and
``(2) revise how such survey information is collected,
following a public notice and opportunity for public comment,
by--
``(A) including surveys that allow for reliable and
objective sources of data and a defendable methodology,
which may include information collected through Bureau
of Labor Statistics surveys; and
``(B) improving the percentage of businesses
choosing to participate in prevailing wage
determination surveys and ensuring proportional
representation of businesses represented by labor
organizations and businesses not represented by labor
organizations in the prevailing wage determination
surveys that are completed.''.
SEC. 3. MULTIPLE WAGE RATE DETERMINATIONS.
Section 3142 of title 40, United States Code, as amended by section
2, is further amended by adding at the end the following:
``(g) Federal Housing Acts.--A determination of prevailing wages by
the Secretary of Labor applicable under section 212(a) of the National
Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715c(a)), section 104(b)(1) of the Native
American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25
U.S.C. 4114(b)(1)), section 12(a) of the United States Housing Act of
1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437j(a)), or section 811(j)(5) of the Cranston-
Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013(j)(5)) shall
be limited to 1 wage rate determination under subsection (b) of this
section that corresponds to the overall residential character of the
project.''.
SEC. 4. DAVIS-BACON MODERNIZATION WORKING GROUP.
(a) Definition.--In this section, the term ``Davis-Bacon
Modernization Working Group'' means the working group established under
subsection (b)(1).
(b) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor, in consultation
with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, shall
establish, within the Department of Labor, a Davis-Bacon
Modernization Working Group to recommend the update and
modernization of certain requirements under subchapter IV of
chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code, as described in
subsection (c).
(2) Date of establishment.--The Davis-Bacon Modernization
Working Group shall be considered established on the date on
which a majority of the members of the Davis-Bacon
Modernization Working Group have been appointed, consistent
with subsection (d).
(c) Duties.--The Davis-Bacon Modernization Working Group shall--
(1) recommend whether, and if so by how much, the
residential classification can be applied to affordable housing
units with 5 stories or more for purposes of prevailing wage
determinations under subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40,
United States Code;
(2) develop administrative and legislative recommendations
of ways, and for what specific circumstances in which, the
prevailing wage rate requirements under subchapter IV of
chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code, could be waived or
streamlined for certain affordable rental Federal Housing
Administration new construction projects; and
(3) review the potential positive and negative outcomes of
directing the Bureau of Labor Statistics to determine
prevailing wages (rather than the Secretary of Labor under
section 3142(b) of title 40, United States Code), in a way that
would not rely on the collection of voluntary surveys from
businesses but rather on data that is already collected by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics.
(d) Members.--
(1) In general.--The Davis-Bacon Modernization Working
Group shall be composed of the following representatives of
Federal agencies and relevant non-Federal industry stakeholder
organizations:
(A) A representative from the Department of Labor,
appointed by the Secretary of Labor.
(B) A representative from the Department of Housing
and Urban Development, appointed by the Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development.
(C) A representative of a housing construction
industry association, appointed by the Secretary of
Labor in consultation with the Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development.
(D) A representative of a financial services
industry association, appointed by the Secretary of
Labor in consultation with the Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development.
(E) A representative of an affordable housing
industry association, appointed by the Secretary of
Labor in consultation with the Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development.
(F) A representative of a State public housing
agency, as defined in section 3 of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a), appointed by the
Secretary of Labor in consultation with the Secretary
of Housing and Urban Development.
(G) A representative of a tribally designated
housing entity, as defined in section 4 of the Native
American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act
of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103), appointed by the Secretary of
Labor in consultation with the Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development.
(H) A representative of a labor organization
representing the housing construction workforce,
appointed by the Secretary of Labor in consultation
with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
(2) Chair.--The representative from the Department of Labor
appointed under paragraph (1)(A) shall serve as the chair of
the Davis-Bacon Modernization Working Group, and that
representative shall be responsible for organizing the business
of the Davis-Bacon Modernization Working Group.
(e) Other Matters.--
(1) No compensation.--A member of the Davis-Bacon
Modernization Working Group shall serve without compensation.
(2) Support.--The Secretary of Labor may detail an employee
of the Department of Labor to assist and support the work of
the Davis-Bacon Modernization Working Group, though such a
detailee shall not be considered to be a member of the Davis-
Bacon Modernization Working Group.
(f) Report.--
(1) Reports.--Not later than 1 year after the date on which
the Davis-Bacon Modernization Working Group is established, the
Davis-Bacon Modernization Working Group shall submit a report
containing its findings and recommendations under subsection
(c), including recommendations resulting from the review under
subsection (c)(3), to the Secretary of Labor, the Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and the
Committee on Education and Workforce of the House of
Representatives.
(2) Majority support.--Each recommendation made under
paragraph (1) shall be agreed to by a majority of the members
of the Davis-Bacon Modernization Working Group.
(g) Nonapplicability of FACA.--Chapter 10 of title 5, United States
Code, shall not apply to the Davis-Bacon Modernization Working Group.
(h) Sunset.--The Davis-Bacon Modernization Working Group shall
terminate on the date the report is completed under subsection (f)(1).
SEC. 5. NATIONAL HOUSING ACT.
Section 212(a) of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715c(a)) is
amended by striking ``similar character, as determined by the Secretary
of Labor in accordance with the Davis-Bacon Act, as amended (40 U.S.C.
276a--276a-5)'' and inserting ``residential character, as determined by
the Secretary of Labor in accordance with subchapter IV of chapter 31
of title 40, United States Code, that is applicable at the time the
application is filed''.
SEC. 6. HOUSING ACT OF 1959.
Section 202(j)(5)(A) of the Housing Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C.
1701q(j)(5)(A)) is amended by striking ``similar character, as
determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with the Act of
March 3, 1931 (commonly known as the Davis-Bacon Act)'' and inserting
``residential character, as determined by the Secretary of Labor in
accordance with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States
Code, that is applicable at the time the application is filed''.
SEC. 7. NATIVE AMERICAN HOUSING ASSISTANCE AND SELF-DETERMINATION ACT
OF 1996.
Section 104(b)(1) of the Native American Housing Assistance and
Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4114(b)(1)) is amended by
striking ``, as predetermined by the Secretary of Labor pursuant to the
Act of March 3, 1931 (commonly known as the Davis-Bacon Act; chapter
411; 46 Stat. 1494; 40 U.S.C. 276a et seq.),'' and inserting ``for
corresponding classes of laborers and mechanics employed on
construction of a residential character, as predetermined by the
Secretary of Labor pursuant to subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40,
United States Code, that is applicable at the time the application is
filed,''.
SEC. 8. CRANSTON-GONZALEZ NATIONAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING ACT.
Section 811(j)(5)(A) of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable
Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013(j)(5)(A)) is amended by striking ``similar
character, as determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with
the Act of March 3, 1931 (commonly known as the Davis-Bacon Act)'' and
inserting ``residential character, as determined by the Secretary of
Labor in accordance with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40,
United States Code, that is applicable at the time the application is
filed''.
SEC. 9. UNITED STATES HOUSING ACT OF 1937.
Section 12(a) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C.
1437j(a)) is amended by striking ``, as predetermined by the Secretary
of Labor pursuant to the Davis-Bacon Act (49 Stat. 1011)'' and
inserting ``for corresponding classes of laborers and mechanics
employed on construction of a residential character, as predetermined
by the Secretary of Labor pursuant to subchapter IV of chapter 31 of
title 40, United States Code, that is applicable at the time the
application is filed''.
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