Copyright 1999 Federal News Service, Inc.
Federal News Service
AUGUST 3, 1999, TUESDAY
SECTION: IN THE NEWS
LENGTH:
974 words
HEADLINE: PREPARED TESTIMONY OF
GERALD L.
SHAHEEN
GROUP PRESIDENT
CATERPILLAR INC.
BEFORE THE
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON RESOURCES
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENERGY AMD
MINERAL RESOURCES
BODY:
Madam Chairman, I
am Gerald L. Shaheen, Group President of Caterpillar Inc. where I am responsible
for the design, development and production of the majority of Caterpillar's
extensive line of forest, mining and construction equipment. Headquartered in
Peoria, Illinois, Caterpillar is the world's largest manufacturer of
construction and mining equipment, natural gas and diesel engines and industrial
gas turbines. We employ 65,000 people worldwide and posted sales last year of
close to $21 billion. Consistent with our strategy to be globally competitive
primarily from an U.S. manufacturing base, $6 billion of that $21 billion was
exported from the U.S.
I'm pleased to be here today to highlight the
importance of a healthy, growing U.S. mining industry to the well-being and
success of my company, our suppliers, employees, dealers and the communities in
which we operate. In 1998, Caterpillar U.S. sales to the metal and non-metal
mining sectors exceeded $390 million and supported over 5,000 good paying jobs
at Caterpillar and another 10,000 jobs at our suppliers. The total value of
these sales is second only to those in the transportation sector of our
business.
Today, Caterpillar services our mining industry customers from a
variety of sites throughout the Mid-west. Large track-type tractors produced in
our East Peoria, Illinois facility; mining trucks from our Decatur, Illinois
operations; motor graders and front shovels produced at our Joliet, Illinois
facility; and wheel-loaders and small mining shovels from our Aurora, Illinois
plant. In addition, engines from our Lafayette, Indiana and Mossville, Illinois
locations power this state of the art equipment, and often serve as the only
source for electric power generation for the mine and its support network.
Our supplier chain extends U.S.-wide, from steel -- over 90% of which is
U.S.- sourced -to castings...tires and brake systems...to operator seats and
electronic components. I have on the table a scale model 793 mining truck,
typical of that used in large mines across this country and around the world. It
has a load capacity of 240 tons. The steel for this 793 mining truck comes from
Pennsylvania, the steel castings are produced in Texas, the truck body was made
in Casper, Wyoming by Westech Inc., the air valves and starters are from a
supplier in New Jersey, the beatings are from Ohio, the tires, brake components
and turbochargers are from Illinois manufacturers and the truck itself is
manufactured and assembled in Illinois.
And our nationwide network of 64
independently owned Caterpillar dealers, with over 33,000 employees, provide
around-the-clock support to customers from advice on the appropriate machine to
use to complete the job successfully to hands-on servicing that keeps their Cat
products running.
The importance of this industry to the economy of cities
large and small across this nation is evident. The mining industry encompasses
more than jobs or miners out West; it's machinists, steel workers, tool makers,
rubber workers, and assemblers from all parts of our country.
From
preparation of the mining access roads through site preparation to mineral
extraction and hauling, Cat products are meeting the needs of today's modem
mining operations. And once mining production is completed, our equipment is
essential to the successful reclamation and rehabilitation of the mine site. It
is not uncommon for a hardrock open-pit mine to use more than 20 pieces of the
type of Cat equipment I described today with a total value ranging upwards of
$20 million.
Because of the importance of this industry to Caterpillar and
the U.S. economy, we are concerned that recent decisions by several U.S.
government agencies will jeopardize the future of hardrock mining in this
country. For that reason, we support the efforts of Senator Craig and others to
correct the recent millsite ruling by the Interior Department
and remove the limitation of one five-acre millsite per mining
claim.Caterpillar believes that mining activities and environmental protection
are not mutually exclusive. We must be good and honest stewards of the land and
its resources to assure that our economy and quality of life flourish.
Caterpillar is proud of the products we make and what those products make
happen...a more productive economy, a more competitive U.S. industrial base,
higher- wage jobs, innovative consumer and capital goods and a stronger
transportation infrastructure.
The decline of the U.S. hardrock mining
industry is bad news for all of us. As I indicated earlier, this is not just a
western states' issue. The impact ripples through our economy and resonates in
the small and medium midwestern cities that are the bedrock of our nation. A
recent study conducted by the mining industry shows that mining, the economic
activities associated with it, and the activities supported by it, typically
cumulate directly and indirectly in the American economy as follows: $27 billion
a year in revenue for local and state government,; $57 billion in federal
revenue, $144 billion in personal income; $296 billion in mining-dependent
business income and a total of $524 billion impact on the U.S. economy; and 5
million dependent jobs. Today, every American requires almost 47,000 pounds of
mined material a year. If it can't be grown, it has to be mined.
Madam
Chairman, we hope that you and your colleagues on the Subcommittee will
carefully review the existing federal statutes that govern mining on federal
lands and reach some agreement on the steps that must be taken to address the
challenges facing this industry as we enter the next millennium.
Thank you
again for this opportunity to testify in support of the hardrock mining
industry. I welcome any questions that you and members of the Subcommittee might
have.
END
LOAD-DATE: August 5, 1999
