[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 18 (Tuesday, February 2, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H276]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           STAND UP FOR STEEL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 19, 1999, the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Mollohan) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Speaker, 2 weeks ago the Ohio Valley made itself 
heard here in the Nation's Capital. Thousands of steel workers and 
their families woke before dawn on a cold damp January day. They came 
from Weirton, they came from Wheeling, from all across the tri-state 
area. They jammed into dozens of buses for a 6 hour ride to Washington. 
When they got here, they rallied long and hard on the steps of this 
Capitol. Then they marched down Pennsylvania Avenue and rallied long 
and hard at the White House. Then they jammed back into their buses to 
get home before morning came again, and many of them lost a day's pay 
in the process.
  So why did they do it?
  They did it, Mr. Speaker, because our steel communities are in a 
state of pure crisis. We have been overtaken by illegal imports, and we 
cannot take it any more.
  Every hour another American steel worker loses his or her job. Every 
hour another American family wonders when and if they will ever see 
another paycheck. And what is worst of all is that they have not done a 
single thing wrong. In fact, Mr. Speaker, they have done everything 
right.
  For years the American steel workers have sacrificed, our American 
steel companies have made huge investments. They did it all in the name 
of efficiency, to achieve productivity standards unheard of, and now 
they are the world's best producers.
  But that means nothing if our so-called partners do not play by the 
same rules. It means nothing if Japan and Russia and Korea can dump 
steel in our markets whenever they want.
  That is not fair trade, Mr. Speaker. That is not even free trade. 
It's foolish trade, and it is, in fact, absolute folly for this 
Congress and this administration to sit and watch as the American steel 
industry is destroyed by unfair foreign imports.
  Our steel industry is at the breaking point, Mr. Speaker. There's no 
time left for tough talk; there is only time for tough action.
  Today the Steel Caucus is introducing tough legislation. I commend my 
good friends: the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula), the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha), the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky) 
and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Traficant) for their leadership on 
this issue. I am proud to cosponsor the bills that are being brought 
before the Congress. I urge my colleagues, Mr. Speaker, to make this 
legislation the very first priority in the 106th Congress. I urge them 
to stand up for steel.

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