WESTMORELAND – Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R-39) today issued the following statement on President Biden’s decision to block Nippon’s acquisition of U.S. Steel:
“President Joe Biden’s decision to block Nippon’s acquisition of U.S. Steel is no surprise, given the International Steelworkers Union’s endorsement of the democrat’s presidential ticket. From the start, the review process has been corrupted by politics, with federal agencies coordinating with unions, extreme advocacy groups and competing businesses with vested interests all wanting this acquisition to fail. With each inflection point in this process, we are witnessing history repeat itself. Environmental extremist groups, like the Sierra Club, working to sideline the deal is comparable to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the Allegheny County Department of Health delaying and refusing to issue permits for upgrading and expanding U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley facility. Those actions resulted in U.S. Steel building a new plant and investing $1.5 billion and creating jobs in Arkansas instead of southwestern Pennsylvania.
“While Biden made the final decision, the fallout of his decision is ultimately a Pennsylvania problem. And Gov. Josh Shapiro has failed to demonstrate leadership regarding any potential future for the Mon Valley. Shapiro has been silent on the acquisition and offered no solutions, despite having the economic development resources to do so. Shapiro’s claims ‘over the last year, he has worked to bring the parties involved together to protect Pennsylvania jobs’ but publicly there has been no evidence to support those actions leaving Pennsylvania workers uncertain about their future.
“The bottom line is U.S. Steel needs major investment to continue operating in southwestern Pennsylvania and Nippon’s offer is currently the only viable option. The local Steelworkers union has done a terrific job of bringing Nippon to the table and negotiating tremendous concessions.
“I am hoping President Trump will consider taking a second look at the local union negotiated concessions and do what needs to be done to let the deal go through or offer a solution that will prevent thousands upon thousands of southwestern Pennsylvania jobs from disappearing over the next five years.
“The workers, their families and the economy of southwestern Pennsylvania are at stake. My colleagues in the Senate Republican caucus and I are ready to work with the Trump Administration to revitalize our steel industry and keep our steel heritage in Pennsylvania.”
MEDIA CONTACT:
Erica Clayton Wright
ewright@pasen.gov
412-334-4856