The Congressional Steel Caucus

Have you heard of the
Congressional Steel Caucus?

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Pete currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Congressional Steel Caucus, a bipartisan group of 100 Members of Congress who represent districts with steel manufacturers or care about the health of the American steel industry.

The steel industry has long been at the heart of Northwest Indiana's economy. Today, the American manufacturing industry faces threats on several fronts, including unfair trade practices by other nations and the manipulation of Chinese currency. During these difficult times, Pete believes that we must fight for every single American job.

As Vice Chairman of the Congressional Steel Caucus, Pete has lobbied the Administration and testified before the International Trade Commission numerous times to fight for a level playing field for our workers. He has also worked to successfully enact Buy America provisions, and he opposed cap and trade legislation because, among other failures, it would have led to job loss in the vulnerable steel and manufacturing sectors.

Legislation

So far, in the 112th Congress, Pete has introduced two pieces of legislation to help keep the jobs we have and lay the foundation for job growth and economic recovery.

  • On April 5, 2011, Pete introduced the Fighting for American Jobs Act of 2011. This legislation would prohibit businesses that lay off a greater percentage of their United States workers than workers in other countries from receiving any federal assistance. 
  • On May 4, 2011, Pete introduced the American Steel First Act to make certain that American-made iron and steel can put Americans to work and power our nation's economic recovery.
     

Click here for more information on the Fighting for American Jobs Act and the American Steel First Act.

Additional Actions

On September 12, 2011, Pete joined his colleagues in urging Defense Secretary Panetta to redefine what “producing” steel means. The Members on this letter sought to ensure that the steel the Department of Defense buys to protect our troops is truly high-quality, American made steel. This is a matter not only of economic integrity, but also of vital importance to national security. America’s military should be protected by the best materials available, in this case American-made steel. Read the letter here.

Hearings

On March 21, 2012, Pete and Congressional Steel  Caucus Chairman Time Murphy convened a hearing on the current state of the steel industry. The Caucus heard from steel industry leaders and discussed the impact of Chinese trade abuses as well as proposals to promote steel production and job creation in the U.S. Read more about the hearing here.

On May 26, 2011, Pete and Congressional Steel Caucus Chairman Tim Murphy convened a hearing on the current state of the steel industry. Read Pete's opening statement here. The Caucus heard from top steel industry leaders addressing the concerns of the U.S. steel industry related to international trade agreements, energy and raw materials, federal regulation and other factors that impact the potential for steel employers to grow and create American jobs. Those who testified included representatives from ArcelorMittal and U.S. Steel. Read more about the hearing here.

International Trade Commission

So far, in the 112th Congress, Pete has testified before the International Trade Commission on many occassions in support of American workers.

  • On November 1, 2012, Pete and his colleagues in the Congressional Steel Caucus sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce to call on the Department to crack down on illegally-dumped pipe from China.
  • On October 18, 2012, Pete spoke at the ITC on a case involving antidumping and countervailing duty orders. The case specifically dealt with carbon-quality circular-welded pipe from India, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam.
  • On May 3, 2012, Pete spoke at the ITC on a case involving a sunset review of anti-dumping and countervailing duties on circular welded pipe from Brazil, India, Korea, Mexico, Taiwan, Thailand, and Turkey.
  • On March 8, 2012, Pete submitted written testimony to the ITC in a case involving steel wheels from China. Read the testimony here.
  • On April 11, 2012, Pete and his colleagues in the Congressional Steel Caucus sent a letter to the ITC on regarding an ongoing review of an anti-dumping order on tin and certain steel sheet from Japan. Read the letter here.
  • On October 25, 2011, Pete and his colleagues in the Congressional Steel Caucus sent a letter to the ITC exhorting them to uphold duty orders on cut-to-length carbon steel plate, arguing that eliminating the duties could be detrimental to American steel. Read the letter here. Days later, the ITC upheld three of the five orders, allowing the other two to sunset after finding they would do no clear harm to U.S. steel interests. Read the release here.
  • On April 6, 2011, Pete argued against unfair trade practices in Brazil, Japan, and Russia for hot-rolled steel. Hot-rolled steel is manufactured in Indiana’s First Congressional District at the ArcelorMittal plants in Burns Harbor and East Chicago, and at the United States Steel.
  • On March 29, 2011, Pete testified on a case involving the aluminum extrusion industry. Between 2007 and 2009, 4,478 jobs in the United States were lost in the aluminum extrusion industry. According to Bonnell Aluminum, 47 of those jobs were lost at its plant in Kentland, Indiana, due to a surge of Chinese imports.
  • On January 5, 2011, Pete testified before the ITC against trade practices regarding drill pipe from China, arguing that the loss of manufacturing knowledge in America would cost our foundation for a knowledge and service-based economy.