Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HR0372
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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
3country's manufacturing base, strategic infrastructure, and
4national security; and
 
5    WHEREAS, The steel industry and manufacturing in general
6has been significantly undermined by artificially low-price
7steel imports from foreign nations like China, that are selling
8their products in the United States at predatory prices; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Foreign steel overproduction and dumping into the
10U.S. economy puts American businesses and jobs in trouble, and
11puts our overall economy at risk; and
 
12    WHEREAS, The United States trade deficit with China in 2016
13was more than $347 billion; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The Chicago Transit Authority recently awarded a
15contract order to build over 800 rail cars, totaling $1.3
16billion; reportedly, the lowest bid was to China Railroad
17Rolling Stock Corp. (CRRC), a company with documented quality
18deficiencies in projects in Boston, Massachusetts and
19Singapore; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Across the Midwest and throughout the country,

 

 

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1thousands of steelworkers have been laid off in recent years,
2and as mills continue to operate well below their operational
3capacity due to Chinese steel dumping and predatory bids on
4public contracts, more steelworkers and miners are at risk of
5losing their jobs; and
 
6    WHEREAS, There are 340,000 less manufacturing workers in
7Illinois than there were just 20 years ago; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Manufacturing lost 45,000 jobs nationwide in
92016, compared to more than two million gained in the entire
10economy; and
 
11    WHEREAS, These same workers are the taxpayers that provide
12the revenue needed to fund our nation's crumbling
13infrastructure, and their tax dollars should be spent on
14maximizing the creation of American manufacturing jobs,
15building American infrastructure, and restoring the economic
16vitality of our communities; and
 
17    WHEREAS, The decision to use taxpayer dollars to support
18Chinese-made manufacturers that are undercutting the American
19steel industry by illegal steel dumping practices, along with
20reports of flawed products that could potentially lead to
21dangerous accidents, is detrimental to the American economy,
22infrastructure, and national security; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, A strong "buy American" domestic procurement
2preference for publicly funded infrastructure projects is
3vital to the health of the domestic steel industry, would help
4create manufacturing jobs and build American infrastructure,
5and would prevent future unfair competition from companies like
6CRRC; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Using Illinois taxpayer dollars on
8domestically-produced iron and steel and other
9American-manufactured products in our infrastructure projects
10will help struggling American families, strengthen our middle
11class, support the American manufacturing base, and stabilize
12our greater economy; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Any infrastructure project built with Illinois
14taxpayer dollars should - to every extent possible - include a
15preference by the State of Illinois to buy iron and steel that
16is produced in the United States, thus employing the very
17workers that pay the taxes for American infrastructure
18projects; therefore, be it
 
19    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
20HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the
21State of Illinois should work to maximize the creation of
22American jobs and to stimulate economic growth and opportunity

 

 

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1by spending Illinois taxpayer dollars on iron and steel that
2creates jobs and helps keep Americans employed; and be it
3further
 
4    RESOLVED, That it should be the policy of the State of
5Illinois and its localities, whenever and wherever possible, to
6use taxpayer dollars to purchase iron and steel that is
7produced in the United States, meaning that all manufacturing
8processes, from the initial melting stage through the
9application of coatings, occurs in the United States.