Capitol
Line
106th
Congress Successes For Steel
Prepared November 15th, before the conclusion of the
lame-duck session
While trade is AISI’s
public policy issue with the highest profile, being regularly covered in
other AISI reports and the press, it is hardly the only one. To the
contrary, AISI and our member companies vigorously pursue legislative and
regulatory objectives in a broad range of other policy areas. With the end
of this Congress and this Administration in sight, here is a partial list
of what we have worked on with notable success:
Market Development
- AISI, through its
coalition work, helped to extend the freeze on current light truck
Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for an additional year,
to permit continued technology transfer of steel lightweighting
technologies on an orderly basis. AISI will also seek to help the
National Academy of Sciences produce a responsible report on fuel
efficiency programs, ordered by the same legislation.
- AISI, working with
its research partners Ford Motor Co., the U.S. Army and the University
of Louisville among others secured a continuation of funding for Project
IMPACT, designed to make steel the body material for the next generation
of Army trucks.
Occupational Health And Safety
- AISI worked closely
with Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson and other top-level Department
of Energy (DOE) officials to freeze the free-release of radiated scrap
from DOE nuclear facilities until appropriate standards are created.
Congressional leaders, Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) and Reps. John Dingell
(D-MI) and Ron Klink (D-PA), contributed mightily to this welcome
result. AISI is now engaged in helping DOE write responsible new rules
for how it will treat radiated scrap metals going forward.
- AISI worked in a
coalition with other employer groups to try to delay the issuance of a
final ergonomics standard until a stronger link with scientific evidence
could be established. Meanwhile, AISI participated aggressively in the
public portion of the standard writing process in order to create a
record for judicial review. Because the Administration succeeded in
rushing a final standard into print while the delaying rider was tied up
in end-of-Congress wrangling, AISI will join other petitioners in suing
to overturn it.
Health Care
- AISI was active and
influential in successfully blocking the passage of the House version of
the Patients Bill of Rights (PBOR), which would have created significant
additional liability for employers and their health care plans.
Environment
- AISI, as part of
the Steel Slag Coalition, was successful in its efforts to challenge
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s guidance on Toxic Release
Inventory (TRI) reporting when on August 1, EPA not only withdrew all
guidance specific to the TRI reporting of "off-site transfers of slag
for application to the land," but pledged that any future guidance
relating to TRI slag reporting requirements will be made with
appropriate stakeholder input.
Recycling
- SRI worked with
numerous federal agencies to help them carry out the provisions of
Executive Order 13101, which requires that federal procurement
preference be given to products that have high recycled content and are
recyclable, requirements easily met by any steel product. In addition,
SRI has been instrumental in the development of Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) procurement guidelines for specific steel products with
regard to the Executive Order.
Transportation
- AISI was heavily
involved in bolstering Congressional support for increasing allowable
truck weight limits on the interstates and keeping current
Hours-of-Service rules for truck drivers in place until further
assessments are completed.
AISI WOULD LIKE TO
THANK ALL MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, ESPECIALLY THOSE MEMBERS OF THE STEEL
CAUCUS, AS WELL AS THE ADMINISTRATION, THE AGENCIES, AND STEEL-RELATED
ORGANIZATIONS FOR THEIR HIGHLY PRODUCTIVE EFFORTS DURING THE
106TH CONGRESS ON BEHALF OF THE AMERICAN STEEL INDUSTRY AND ITS
WORKERS. |