Congressional Steel Caucus Chairman Tim Murphy (R-PA) and Vice Chairman Peter J. Visclosky (D-IN), along with three dozen members of Congress, sent a bipartisan letter to the President asking for full support for the use of American-made steel in any expansion of national naval shipbuilding. This letter follows a series of recent proposals to increase the size of the United States' naval fleet.
According to the letter, “threats to American interests continue to proliferate around the world” and the nation increasingly relies on the inherent capabilities of the US Navy and its carrier strike groups. As discussed at the Congressional Steel Caucus annual hearing in March, and as the letter states, the aircraft carriers and other naval ships produced by the domestic shipbuilding industry are a “crucial element and strategic asset for our national defense.”
Additionally, the letter notes the billions of dollars injected into our nation's economy by domestic shipbuilding—including the steel industry—as well as the thousands of high-skilled jobs provided in more than 300 congressional districts across the country.
“A healthy domestic steel industry and a strong domestic steel workforce are vital to our nation’s naval shipbuilding industry, our national security and our economic well-being,” the letter concludes.