Glenn English: “I rise today to applaud the House leadership's decision to bring this bill to the full House of Representatives. I…”

“I rise today to applaud the House leadership's decision to bring this bill to the full House of Representatives. I believe that the crisis facing the U.S. steel industry and the lack of an effective response by the Clinton-Gore administration has forced Congress today to take action. I very much regret that circumstances have brought us to the point that Congressional action was necessary. I believe, and I think that many of the parties agree, that it would not be necessary for us to even consider this legislation today if the administration had used all of the tools available to it under current law and consistent with all of our international obligations. I support this legislation. I urge its passage by the full House of Representatives, and I call on my colleagues to stand up for steel. I have come to the conclusion that we need firm legislative action. Passage of H.R. 975 meets the test of addressing the current crisis in the short term and the import monitoring language that would help the U.S. steel industry and its workers discern future import surges while there is still time to prevent unnecessary damage to our economy. This legislation is not protectionism and its opponents are not here truly advocating free trade.”