[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 144 (Monday, October 12, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2100]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           STAND UP FOR STEEL

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JERRY F. COSTELLO

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 12, 1998

  Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to stand up for steel. Our 
steel industry is being decimated and the Republican leaders in 
Congress have once again resorted to partisan tactics that hurt 
American workers.
  I am a cosponsor of H. Con. Res. 328. This resolution was cosponsored 
by 120 of my colleagues--both Democrat and Republican. This resolution 
calls on the Administration to take all necessary measures to respond 
to the surge of unfairly traded steel imports resulting from financial 
crises overseas. When one of my democratic colleagues attempted to 
bring the matter up for debate in this House last week, he was rebuked, 
essentially along party lines.
  Instead, today the Republican leadership brings to the floor of this 
House a sham steel resolution. The Republican resolution makes 
substantial changes to water-down H. Con. Res. 328. This weakened 
resolution does not adequately address the seriousness and urgency of 
the steel crisis, nor the prospect of losing hundreds of thousands of 
American jobs.
  The U.S. steel industry is suffering because the Russian and Asian 
financial crises have led those countries to illegally dump their steel 
on our market. Unfortunately, the trade laws that would protect 
American workers from unfair and illegal practices are being ignored. 
Foreign steel is pouring into our country where it is being sold below 
the cost of production. U.S. steel prices have fallen 20 percent in the 
last three months and will dive even further in the future if we do not 
act now. The U.S. steel industry has been forced to layoff workers and 
move to shorter work weeks. The industry has seen significant cuts in 
production and orders have been lost. In my district, steel companies 
have been forced to send workers home and are operating on four-day 
weeks.
  We can ill-afford to be the world's dumping ground for unfairly-
traded steel. While I am saddened by the financial disasters in Asia, 
Russia, and elsewhere, these countries should not be allowed to export 
their problems here. We must find other means to help our trading 
partners deal with their economic challenges. Allowing unfairly-traded 
steel to flood our markets helps no one.
  I am disappointed and ashamed that the Republican leadership in this 
body has turned the steel crisis into a partisan game. The resolution 
we consider today is a poor attempt to lull American workers into 
thinking that Republicans are concerned about their plight. We should 
reject this resolution. We must take a real stand for U.S. steel and 
U.S. steelworkers. This resolution does not fit the bill. Let's send it 
back and bring a strong resolution--like H. Con. Res. 328--to the floor 
of this House. I urge my colleagues to defeat this resolution.

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