Political Quotes

“I rise in support of H.R. 1664, the Emergency Steel, Oil and Gas Guarantee Loan Act of 1999. I want to address my remarks in particular to the part of this bill that concerns the steel industry. The steel industry took a drubbing in 1998. Global overcapacity, combined with a dramatic drop in world demand for steel due to the Asian financial crisis, led to a surge of steel imports into the United States. Prices dropped dramatically, 10,000 workers were laid off, and three steel companies were forced into bankruptcy. Earlier this year, we searched for a legislative solution to this crisis. A majority of this body voted for the imposition of quotas on steel imports into the United States. That solution would have violated our WTO obligations and allowed retaliation by our trading partners. For that reason, I opposed the quota bill. It has since been defeated in the Senate. I have urged a different solution, a more long-term solution that would help not only the steel industry, but also other industries that may be vulnerable to the shifts that are bound to occur in our increasingly globalized economy.”