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Senator Byrd

Leadership.      Character.      Commitment.

Simple Justice for American Workers

For several years, American steel companies, employees, and their families have stood against constant waves of unfair foreign trade practices.  They have done their best to withstand pressure applied by foreign countries and companies to bend -- and sometimes break -- the very trade agreements that their governments signed with our own.  I have worked to find ways to support Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel, Weirton Steel, Steel of West Virginia in Huntington, and the entire U.S. steel industry.  But my efforts have been undercut by empty promises from President Bush's Administration.

In 1999, I created the $1 billion Emergency Steel Loan Guarantee Program to provide U.S. steelmakers with access to funds to overcome harm suffered as a result of unfair trade.  That program serves as the lifeline to steel companies facing imminent financial difficulty.  Today, however, the Bush Administration is threatening to cut that lifeline by eliminating all funds for this program and refusing to extend its authority.  No federal loan guarantees means no access to capital for steel companies that have nowhere else to turn.

In 2000, I wrote a law known as the "Byrd Amendment."  Under this law, companies like Weirton Steel receive funds from duties imposed on imports found to be unfairly subsidized or dumped in the U.S. market.  This law simply encourages our foreign trading partners to play by the very rules that they negotiated with the United States.  If they follow the rules, there is no negative consequence; but if they break the rules, then they must provide a remedy.  Inconceivably, the Bush Administration is recommending that this law be taken off the books.

When George Bush was a candidate for President, he claimed that he recognized the value of West Virginia's steel companies and workers.  Dick Cheney pledged that the Bush-Cheney ticket would always be a friend of West Virginia steelmakers, claiming, "We will never lie to you.  If our trading partners violate trade laws, we will respond firmly and swiftly."

I and others have called on the Bush Administration to make good on its promises.  This law -- the Byrd Amendment -- is on the books and should stay on the books. The Congress has expressed its widespread support for American workers, and it is time for the White House to do the same.