Full Text of HR0372 100th General Assembly
HR0372 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The American steel industry is vital to this | 3 | | country's manufacturing base, strategic
infrastructure, and | 4 | | national security; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, The steel industry and manufacturing in general | 6 | | has been significantly undermined
by artificially low-price | 7 | | steel imports from foreign nations like China, that are selling | 8 | | their
products in the United States at predatory prices; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Foreign steel overproduction and dumping into the | 10 | | U.S. economy puts American
businesses and jobs in trouble, and | 11 | | puts our overall economy at risk; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, The United States trade deficit with China in 2016 | 13 | | was more than $347 billion; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, The Chicago Transit Authority recently awarded a
| 15 | | contract order to build over 800 rail cars, totaling $1.3 | 16 | | billion; reportedly, the lowest bid was to China Railroad | 17 | | Rolling Stock Corp. (CRRC), a company with documented quality | 18 | | deficiencies
in projects in Boston, Massachusetts and | 19 | | Singapore; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Across the Midwest and throughout the country, |
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| 1 | | thousands of steelworkers have
been laid off in recent years, | 2 | | and as mills continue to operate well below their operational
| 3 | | capacity due to Chinese steel dumping and predatory bids on | 4 | | public contracts, more steelworkers
and miners are at risk of | 5 | | losing their jobs; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, There are 340,000 less manufacturing workers in | 7 | | Illinois than there were just 20
years ago; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Manufacturing lost 45,000 jobs nationwide in | 9 | | 2016, compared to more than two
million gained in the entire | 10 | | economy; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, These same workers are the taxpayers that provide | 12 | | the revenue needed to fund our
nation's crumbling | 13 | | infrastructure, and their tax dollars should be spent on | 14 | | maximizing the
creation of American manufacturing jobs, | 15 | | building American infrastructure, and restoring the
economic | 16 | | vitality of our communities; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, The decision to use taxpayer dollars to support | 18 | | Chinese-made manufacturers that are
undercutting the American | 19 | | steel industry by illegal steel dumping practices, along with | 20 | | reports of
flawed products that could potentially lead to | 21 | | dangerous accidents, is detrimental to the
American economy, | 22 | | infrastructure, and national security; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, A strong "buy American" domestic procurement | 2 | | preference for publicly funded
infrastructure projects is | 3 | | vital to the health of the domestic steel industry, would help | 4 | | create
manufacturing jobs and build American infrastructure, | 5 | | and would prevent future unfair
competition from companies like | 6 | | CRRC; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Using Illinois taxpayer dollars on | 8 | | domestically-produced iron and steel and other
| 9 | | American-manufactured products in our infrastructure projects | 10 | | will help struggling American
families, strengthen our middle | 11 | | class, support the American manufacturing base, and stabilize
| 12 | | our greater economy; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Any infrastructure project built with Illinois | 14 | | taxpayer dollars should - to every
extent possible - include a | 15 | | preference by the State of Illinois to buy iron and steel that | 16 | | is
produced in the United States, thus employing the very | 17 | | workers that pay the taxes for American
infrastructure | 18 | | projects; therefore, be it
| 19 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 20 | | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the | 21 | | State of Illinois should work to
maximize the creation of | 22 | | American jobs and to stimulate economic growth and opportunity |
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| 1 | | by
spending Illinois taxpayer dollars on iron and steel that | 2 | | creates jobs and helps keep Americans
employed; and be it | 3 | | further
| 4 | | RESOLVED, That it should be the policy of the State of | 5 | | Illinois and its
localities, whenever and wherever possible, to | 6 | | use taxpayer dollars to purchase iron and steel that
is | 7 | | produced in the United States, meaning that all manufacturing | 8 | | processes, from the initial
melting stage through the | 9 | | application of coatings, occurs in the United States.
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