HR0372 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0372 LRB100 12617 MST 25859 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The American steel industry is vital to this country's manufacturing base, strategic infrastructure, and national security; and

WHEREAS, The steel industry and manufacturing in general has been significantly undermined by artificially low-price steel imports from foreign nations like China, that are selling their products in the United States at predatory prices; and

WHEREAS, Foreign steel overproduction and dumping into the U.S. economy puts American businesses and jobs in trouble, and puts our overall economy at risk; and

WHEREAS, The United States trade deficit with China in 2016 was more than $347 billion; and

WHEREAS, The Chicago Transit Authority recently awarded a contract order to build over 800 rail cars, totaling $1.3 billion; reportedly, the lowest bid was to China Railroad Rolling Stock Corp. (CRRC), a company with documented quality deficiencies in projects in Boston, Massachusetts and Singapore; and

WHEREAS, Across the Midwest and throughout the country, thousands of steelworkers have been laid off in recent years, and as mills continue to operate well below their operational capacity due to Chinese steel dumping and predatory bids on public contracts, more steelworkers and miners are at risk of losing their jobs; and

WHEREAS, There are 340,000 less manufacturing workers in Illinois than there were just 20 years ago; and

WHEREAS, Manufacturing lost 45,000 jobs nationwide in 2016, compared to more than two million gained in the entire economy; and

WHEREAS, These same workers are the taxpayers that provide the revenue needed to fund our nation's crumbling infrastructure, and their tax dollars should be spent on maximizing the creation of American manufacturing jobs, building American infrastructure, and restoring the economic vitality of our communities; and

WHEREAS, The decision to use taxpayer dollars to support Chinese-made manufacturers that are undercutting the American steel industry by illegal steel dumping practices, along with reports of flawed products that could potentially lead to dangerous accidents, is detrimental to the American economy, infrastructure, and national security; and

WHEREAS, A strong "buy American" domestic procurement preference for publicly funded infrastructure projects is vital to the health of the domestic steel industry, would help create manufacturing jobs and build American infrastructure, and would prevent future unfair competition from companies like CRRC; and

WHEREAS, Using Illinois taxpayer dollars on domestically-produced iron and steel and other American-manufactured products in our infrastructure projects will help struggling American families, strengthen our middle class, support the American manufacturing base, and stabilize our greater economy; and

WHEREAS, Any infrastructure project built with Illinois taxpayer dollars should - to every extent possible - include a preference by the State of Illinois to buy iron and steel that is produced in the United States, thus employing the very workers that pay the taxes for American infrastructure projects; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the State of Illinois should work to maximize the creation of American jobs and to stimulate economic growth and opportunity by spending Illinois taxpayer dollars on iron and steel that creates jobs and helps keep Americans employed; and be it further

RESOLVED, That it should be the policy of the State of Illinois and its localities, whenever and wherever possible, to use taxpayer dollars to purchase iron and steel that is produced in the United States, meaning that all manufacturing processes, from the initial melting stage through the application of coatings, occurs in the United States.