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Simple Justice for
Steelworkers
For several years, American
steel companies, employees, and their families have stood against
constant waves of unfair foreign trade practices. They have
done their best to withstand pressure applied by foreign countries
and companies to bend -- and sometimes break -- the very trade
agreements that their governments signed with our own. I have
worked to find ways to support Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel, Weirton
Steel, Steel of West Virginia in Huntington, and the entire U.S.
steel industry. But my efforts have been undercut by empty
promises from President Bush's Administration.
 In 1999, I created the
$1 billion Emergency Steel Loan Guarantee Program to provide U.S.
steelmakers with access to funds to overcome harm suffered as a
result of unfair trade. That program serves as the lifeline to
steel companies facing imminent financial difficulty. Today,
however, the Bush Administration is threatening to cut that lifeline
by eliminating all funds for this program and refusing to extend its
authority. No federal loan guarantees means no access to
capital for steel companies that have nowhere else to turn.
In 2000, I wrote a law known as the "Byrd
Amendment." Under this law, companies like Weirton Steel
receive funds from duties imposed on imports found to be unfairly
subsidized or dumped in the U.S. market. This law simply
encourages our foreign trading partners to play by the very rules
that they negotiated with the United States. If they follow
the rules, there is no negative consequence; but if they break the
rules, then they must provide a remedy. Inconceivably, the
Bush Administration is recommending that this law be taken off the
books.
When George Bush was a candidate for President,
he claimed that he recognized the value of West Virginia's steel
companies and workers. Dick Cheney pledged that the
Bush-Cheney ticket would always be a friend of West Virginia
steelmakers, claiming, "We will never lie to you. If our
trading partners violate trade laws, we will respond firmly and
swiftly."
Now, three years later, West Virginia's steel
companies are in serious trouble largely due to the unfair trade
practices of our trading partners. But the Administration's
reaction has been anything but swift and strong.
I and others have called on the Bush
Administration to make good on its promises. Our effort has
reached across party lines. But, to date, there has been no
response. The silence has been deafening. I only hope
that the President will fulfill the promises made to West Virginia's
steel workers before it is too late. |
