U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-1st, has successfully introduced an amendment to H.R. 3021—the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act—which would require all school construction funded by the bill to use only American-made steel.

That bill is intended to make schools safe and more conducive to learning by modernizing facilities and “Visclosky’s amendment will keep unsafe imported steel out of school buildings,” according to a statement released on Wednesday.

“Unsafe imported steel from China and elsewhere is a serious threat to public safety in America,” Visclosky said. “By making our schools use only American-made steel, we know that the steel adheres to safety standards and will not collapse on our children. My amendment helps alleviate a serious public safety concern and will also lead to good-paying steelworker jobs.”

Visclosky’s amendment requires that all steel purchased with funds authorized by the underlying bill be made in America, with exemption clauses if the needed steel cannot be made in America or if using American steel would increase the cost of a project by more than 25 percent.

In April 2008, Visclosky—chair of the Congressional Steel Caucus—convened a hearing on sub-standard Chinese steel imports. At that hearing, the statement said, U.S. Customs and Border Protection testified that the government does not have an established process to monitor the safety of steel imports and representatives of the domestic steel industry testified that some Chinese steel, used in infrastructure, does not meet U.S. standards.

Posted 6/5/2008