(Archived document, may contain errors) 315 Dece mber 15, 1983 TRIMMING THE HUGE COST .OF DAWS-BACON c INTRODUCTION The Davis-Bacon Act, enacted in 1931, requires contractors to pay the llprevailingll wage on federally funded construction projects. The purpose of the Act was to protect local construc ti on labor from the competition of itinerant contractors and their lower paid, often minority, employees.