WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator JD Vance (R-OH) has asked for the withdrawal of a proposed emissions rule that would severely weaken the industrial base in Ohio and across the nation. In a letter to President Biden and EPA Administrator Michael Regan, Senator Vance notes the Biden administration’s proposed rule is “unworkable for power plants throughout the country” and will cause significant negative downstream effects for the nation’s industrial base, particularly the steel industry.
Senator Vance has maintained a focus on defending the domestic steel industry since taking office. In August, Senator Vance cautioned the United States Steel Corporation (U.S. Steel) against the acceptance of an acquisition bid from a foreign entity, citing the vital role the industry serves in defending the “security and prosperity” of the United States.
He further emphasized that point in a recent Op-Ed published by the Washington Post: “The board of directors of U.S. Steel must reject any bid from a foreign acquirer,” said Senator Vance. “If the courts attempt to block them, then Congress should intervene. We must ensure that corporate transactions such as the sale of U.S. Steel advance our nation’s power and prosperity.”
Senator Vance’s letter reads, in part:
“The impact of the rule would be especially hard on a backbone of the nation’s industrial base: the steel industry. The country’s top two steel producing states of Ohio and Indiana1 are especially reliant on fossil fuels for electric power generation—80 percent in Ohio and 91 percent in Indiana. When the new standards drive up energy costs and undermine the electric grid, steelmakers in the Heartland and throughout the country will suffer…
“This administration may tout its public subsidies for electric vehicles and investments in infrastructure, but those near-term demand shocks cannot resolve the long-term strain of climate alarmism and unworkable environmental regulations.
“My concerns are hardly speculative. Last year’s energy crisis in the European Union devastated the region’s steelmakers. Rising energy costs, including for electricity, made steel production unprofitable. Several European steel mills were fully or partially idled.”
Read the full letter here and below. Read more from Breitbart here.
For Background:
- Reuters: [European] Steel makers fear deepening crisis from energy crunch as output halted
- “Spiraling energy costs have forced steel makers to cut output across Europe, threatening mass plant shutdowns some warn could be permanent in a sector that employs more than 300,000 and contributes tens of billions of euros to the region’s economy.”
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