Alan B. Mollohan: “2 weeks ago the Ohio Valley made itself heard here in the Nation's Capital. Thousands of steel workers and their…”

“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.”