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Washington, D.C. – The Congressional Steel Caucus, led by Chairman Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.) and Vice Chairman Tim Murphy (R-Pa.), today held a hearing to listen to the concerns of the steel industry and discuss policy solutions that can help stabilize the steel industry. The hearing featured testimony from constituents of steelmaking regions across the country, industry experts, and industry leaders to present further efforts Congress can undertake to help stabilize the steel industry and preserve and create steelworker jobs.
“We must work to stabilize the steel industry to preserve and create jobs and revitalize the economies of steel-producing regions across the U.S.,” said Visclosky. “None of us have control over the economy. But we do have control over what actions we can take to ameliorate its effect, as well as the effects of other actions and issues that impact the industry. I am proud of the Buy America provisions in the stimulus, and believe that Buy America is the foundation for our steel industry to revitalize.”
“Proponents of Cap and Trade say we should trust China that they won't cheat and somehow send cheaper goods over here. But this is the same country that sends us fungus in their diapers, leaded toys, toxic baby bottles, poison dog food, harmful building materials; they dump steel on our shores, hack into our computers, and spy on us. Hardly a country I would trust,” said Murphy.
The first two panels featured testimony from residents of Indiana, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, and West Virginia who work in the steel industry. They painted a vivid picture of the impacts that the recession and downturn in the steel industry are having in their communities. The third panel featured industry experts who spoke of the decline in the American manufacturing sector and the imperative of rebuilding the manufacturing base, and the fourth panel featured steel industry leaders who presented their assessment of the current situation and measures that Congress can take to help stabilize the industry.
Among the policy suggestions put forth were the strict enforcement of the Buy America provision in the Recovery Act, measures to prevent foreign governments from manipulating their currencies and subsidizing their exports to the U.S., incentives to encourage companies to keep, reopen, and build facilities in the U.S., better enforcement of trade remedy tools, especially against China, and development of green goods that create a new demand for steel.
“The USW has responded with a mobilization to once again defend and support American manufacturing,” said USW District 7 Director Jim Robinson. “We fought for the ‘Buy American’ provision in the stimulus bill; we passed local and state ‘Buy American’ resolutions; we created bus tours across the Midwest and South to demonstrate the importance of the auto industry to a strong manufacturing base and a secure standard of living for American working families.”
“We need to make sure that the domestic steel industry is competing on a level playing field by making sure that our foreign competitors are not dumping excess steel, that the steel is not being produced with government subsidies that put the U.S. companies at a disadvantage, and that the foreign countries are not regulating their currencies to give the companies an unfair advantage,” said Universal Stainless and Alloy Products Vice President of Administration and General Counsel Paul McGrath.
Already this year, the Steel Caucus has spearheaded the effort to insert Buy American language into the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, fought for the enforcement of U.S. trade law against unfair imports from countries like China, and worked hard to ensure that climate change legislation moving its way through the House does not hurt the competitiveness of the American steel industry.
“We have an obligation to American taxpayers and American workers to ensure that their tax dollars are creating American jobs, and I assure you that this Caucus will not stop working to ensure that American steel has full access to stimulus funding and the resources to fairly compete in the world economy and survive this downturn,” said Visclosky.
“Proponents say we're going to get 200 tons of steel to build a windmill, and that's true, but it takes 78,000 tons of steel to build a clean coal power plant. What we ought to be doing is spending our money tearing down our old dirty coal plants, building new ones, and using our massive energy resources off our nation’s coast to help finance a new era of clean energy,” concluded Murphy.
The Steel Caucus is a bipartisan group of 100 Members of Congress who represent districts with steel manufacturers or care about the health of the American steel industry. Through legislation, roundtable discussions, and hearings, the Steel Caucus focuses on the needs of the steel industry and what it takes to level the playing field for employers and preserve American jobs. |
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