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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.