A move by a Hawaii Democratic congressman to insert labor provisions into the House version of the 2010 military spending bill that would affect Guam's multibillion-dollar troop redeployment facility expansion program is raising concern among U.S. officials and potential contractors about big cost impacts.
The bill, enacted late last month, includes language added by Rep. Neil Abercrombie, a member of the House Armed Services Committee. It would require contractors involved in the estimated $15-billion Guam military facility expansion to pay construction workers prevailing wages equivalent to those paid in Hawaii, and to limit to 30% the proportion of allowed workers on the project who are not from Guam or from the U.S. mainland.