|
 |
Dayton Business Journal...
Steel-related
bill to benefit Ohio
by Joe Cogliano, Senior Reporter
Thursday, February 9, 2012
A proposed new law would require steel purchased by the U.S. military
to be completely made in America.
On Thursday, six senators including U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio,
introduced legislation that would restore a decades old rule requiring
that steel purchased by the U.S. military be both melted and finished
in the U.S.
Brown said the rule was overturned by the Department of
Defense in 2009, meaning that armor plate melted in
foreign countries could be imported, subjected to simple finishing
processes in the U.S. and then be deemed to have been produced
domestically.
“We know how to make steel armor plate here in America, and there’s no
reason why countries like China and Russia should be making our
military’s vehicles and equipment,” Brown said. “A loophole in Defense
Department regulations allows foreign companies to melt steel, then
ship it to the United States for simple finishing processes, which
jeopardizes the American steel industry.”
If aproved, the bill could provide a boost to domestic steelmakers,
including those operations locally.
With several thousand employees in the Dayton region, West
Chester-based AK Steel is one of the largest
employers in the area. The U.S. Military employs more than 27,000
active-duty and civilian workers in Dayton at Wright-Patterson Air
Force Base .
Other sponsors of the bill include U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D- New
York, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, U.S. Sen Amy Klobuchar,
D-Minnesota, U.S. Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr., D- Pennsylvania, and U.S.
Sen. Al Franken, D- Minnesota.
Read this and other articles at the Dayton Business Journal
|
|
|
|
