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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 6, 2002 |
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ROCKEFELLER URGES PRESIDENT BUSH TO JOIN FIGHT ON LEGACY COSTS FOR RETIRED STEELWORKERS WASHINGTON, D.C. – One day after President Bush announced his Section 201 remedies, Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) told the President that more work needs to be done if the embattled U.S. steel industry is going to survive. Rockefeller, Chairman of the Senate Steel Caucus, told President Bush that while he appreciates his efforts on 201 remedies, the future of the U.S. steel industry is still at serious risk until the problem of legacy costs – or health care for retired steelworkers – is resolved. Rockefeller specifically asked the President to appoint an individual or a task force to work with him and the Steel Caucus to find a workable solution on legacy costs. Attached is the text of the Senator’s letter to the President. ### March 6, 2002 The Honorable George W. Bush Dear Mr. President, Your efforts to provide a meaningful 201 remedy to maintain domestic steelmaking capacity are appreciated, by me, by our steelworkers and by all who live in America’s manufacturing communities. As you are fully aware, 201 relief is only the first step in what must be a three-part solution to preserving our steel industry – a solution that must include comprehensive legacy cost legislation and reduction of global steelmaking capacity. Your immediate assistance is now needed address legacy costs to encourage a rational consolidation of the industry. Legacy cost relief is critical to maintaining the promised health benefits of hundreds of thousands of steelworkers retirees and to retaining basic steelmaking capacity in the United States. Only with your strong and personal leadership will we have any hope of resolving this complicated, but important piece of steel’s long term viability. You can surely understand how deeply disappointed I was to learn that the Republican Leader, Senator Lott, has said that he will oppose any federal government assistance for steel industry legacy cost obligations. The Minority Leader’s statement only underscores the need for your intervention on the issue of steelworker retiree health costs that, as you know, are a substantial barrier to restructuring of the steel industry. Only the White House’s direct involvement will allow us to forge a compromise that can maintain the health benefits of up to 600,000 steelworker retirees. I most respectfully urge you to appoint a task force to work with me and my Steel Caucus colleagues to draft a workable legacy costs proposal. While I am in the process of drafting a legacy cost bill, I understand that only through a bipartisan process, led by you, will there be any realistic hope of enacting meaningful legacy cost legislation this year. West Virginia’s steel jobs and, I believe, American’s steel industry, remain at risk. Even with your 201 provisions, we remain vulnerable to assaults from foreign markets, and steelworker retirees are the most vulnerable of all in this environment. I am hopeful that your 201 decision will give us the time we need to craft a legacy cost solution to facilitate restructuring and further reduce capacity. Your recent action on 201 demonstrates a clear understanding of the importance of America’s steel industry. Legacy costs are an equally critical part of the solution. Please let me know at your earliest opportunity if you will designate an Administration official to help in this next challenge. I thank you for your Administration’s work to date on behalf of steel. I look forward to hearing from you very soon on how we can work together to help the industry consolidate while preserving essential health benefits for steelworker retirees. Sincerely, John D. Rockefeller IV | |