[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992, Book I)]
[March 16, 1992]
[Pages 450-452]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks to Steeltech Employees in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

March 16, 1992
    Well, this is an exciting day. And Janet, thank you for the 
introduction. And of course, to the Guerrero family who greeted us here, 
some of them milling around with cameras, the boss up here, many, many 
thanks for this warm welcome to this exciting venture. And David, let me 
just say, from what I've seen, you have an awful lot to be proud of, not 
just in things, not just in what's happening but in the people that make 
up this organization of yours. Good morning also to Chuck Wallace. And 
it's

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good to, obviously great to be back with two dear friends of mine, 
Governor Tommy Thompson and Senator Bob Kasten, each in his own way 
doing a superb job for our country. May I also salute Mayor Norquist, 
modestly standing on the side, and thank him for attending today. Thank 
you, sir. And with him, the county executive is with us today, Mr. 
Schultz. Thank you, sir, for being with us. And I was looking because 
back out of the limelight is one of America's great heroes, a winner of 
the Congressional Medal of Honor, Gary Wetzel, but he's--he was there, 
but anyway--here he is right over here. Proud to have him with us today.
    You know, Tommy--to me, Governor Thompson is fond of saying there 
are only two seasons in Wisconsin, winter and road construction. So I 
guess I'm glad to say that spring is just around the corner.
    And I am proud to be with you today. And I want the media here to 
carry your message into every living room in this Nation because we're 
waging a battle today in America, a battle for jobs and for our economic 
future. And Steeltech is the kind of success story that points the way 
to victory. It was a dream that its supporters refuse to call 
impossible, a dream of startup, minority-owned firm, but committed to 
excellence. And Steeltech grew out of extraordinary bipartisan public-
private cooperation, combining government action with economic 
initiative and the strong support of the community. And that is 
essential.
    Governor Thompson on the State level, a great believer; Mayor 
Norquist, I'm told, on the city level, a great believer; and then Jack 
Kemp, our Secretary of HUD, who helped win a HUD grant; Pat Saiki, back 
in Washington, who is head of the SBA, and she helped qualify this 
company as a small disadvantaged business concern, that gave it another 
kick.
    And I've heard about the private sector's involvement from Fred 
Luber, especially about Roger Peirce and the great folks at Super Steel 
who have held out a hand of hospitality. So, what I've glimpsed, what 
I've just seen, seen the periscope of, really, is a precedent-setting 
teamwork that brought about what I'm told, and I believe this is true, 
David, is the largest manufacturing minority business enterprise in the 
Nation's history.
    One of the most impressive things about Steeltech, and I referred to 
this earlier, is its vision of its workers. David Guerrero and Jan 
Crosby and others go to the hardest hit parts of minority communities 
here for their recruits. And some have been imprisoned; some are 
longtime unemployed. And I like what David says about these new 
beginnings. Here's his quote: ``Forget about the past. Look to the 
future.'' And after intensive training with partner schools, these men 
and women become part of the high-quality, self-confident, drug-free 
Steeltech team.
    And what a great team it is. Let me mention just a couple: players 
like Chester Gandy, who learned to weld at 47; Larry Holliman, who was 
honored by Mayor Norquist for perfect attendance; and father and son 
workers Gilbert Buenrostro II and III, two of them starting a family 
tradition. And they're all part of this Steeltech team that last year 
produced $1.8 million in sales and that this year expects to top $10 
million. Remarkable, and it's not even the second anniversary of this 
firm yet.
    And soon, you're going to move into what David described to me as a 
neighborhood factory, your new state-of-the-art plant with the largest 
automated E-coat painting line in the United States. And there you'll 
help contribute to the national defense of this country, working with 
Gene Goodson of Oshkosh, making high-quality steel components for the 
PLS, the new military cargo truck. And we're proud to have you working 
for America under a Federal Government contract. And I am proud, very 
proud, to be here to salute each and every one of you.
    You should know, I hope you know that I'm trying very hard to fight 
for a better economic climate not just for people here but all across 
our country. And you've heard me talk about the economic growth plan 
that I've asked Congress to pass by March 20th. That's this coming 
Friday. And the plan offers new incentives to stimulate the economy in 
certain ways, incentives like an investment tax allowance that will help 
these kinds of dynamic companies to expand, speed up the depreciation 
rate so

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business can invest and get that payback sooner. It's critical to get 
congressional approval immediately.
    Let me just mention today another battle for the health of the 
economy. And I don't know how badly you've been impacted by it, David, 
but I'm talking about the struggle against excessive regulation. 
American workers have shown to foreign competitors that given a level 
playing field, given equal rules, we can outthink, outperform, 
outproduce anyone, anytime, and anyplace. Well, a level playing field 
outside the United States is well and good, but you'll never reach it if 
you have to run yourselves to exhaustion here at home on a treadmill of 
overzealous regulation. Yes, we all have obligations for the safety, for 
example, of workers in the workplace. But we can't be overzealous; we 
can't go too far.
    And so, in my recent State of the Union Message, I instituted a 90-
day freeze on proposed and existing Federal regs that would hinder 
economic growth. And now we're speeding up rules that help growth and 
halting rules that would harm the economy. Overregulation here in the 
U.S. can give foreign corporations an advantage over us. And it can also 
drive businesses to move their factories overseas. And let me assure 
you, we are going to continue this fight until we roll back all of the 
overregulation.
    During and after this 90-day freeze, our administration is going to 
do everything it can to roll this tide back and then to go forward with 
reform legislation. Some of it to win the battle against excessive 
regulations requires legislation itself. And we're going to fight 
against those in Congress who try to impose new and unacceptable 
regulatory burdens on Americans' livelihood. And if Congress sends me 
any legislation with excessive regulation in it, I will have to veto it 
and send it back. We simply cannot tie the hands of our workers, tie the 
hands of our businesses.
    And so, I'm tremendously impressed, in summary, by just what I've 
seen here today, by you. And as I travel across the country now I've got 
a wonderful story to take with me. And I will tell other Americans about 
a place where people still believe in hope, where they work together for 
their neighbors, where they succeed. And I'll tell the story of 
Steeltech, and I'll end by saying these men and women prove that the 
American dream can still come true. I just wish each and every one of 
you that might not be intimately familiar with this firm could have 
heard the spirit of the workers that I was privileged to talk to, albeit 
briefly, when I first came into this plant.
    So thank you, David. And thank all of you for what you're doing in 
this wonderful, I would say, experience; let me call it instead a 
success story. I will take this message out and bring it home to 
America: We can succeed. We will succeed. And we will get this economy 
moving dynamically in the future.
    Thank you all very, very much.

                    Note: The President spoke at 11:05 a.m. at Steeltech 
                        Manufacturing, Inc. In his remarks, he referred 
                        to Steeltech officers G. David Guerrero, 
                        president and chief executive officer, Charles 
                        L. Wallace, chairman of the board, and Janet E. 
                        Crosby, human resources manager; Super Steel 
                        Products Corp. officers Fred G. Luber, chairman 
                        and chief executive officer, and Roger D. 
                        Peirce, president and chief operating officer; 
                        and R. Eugene Goodson, chief executive officer 
                        of Oshkosh Truck Corp.