This financial weakness permeates the industry. The executive and legislative branches of government must be ready to act quickly and in accord to promote the health of the domestic steel industry. To facilitate this quick action, we respectfully request the opportunity to meet with you to discuss our concerns about the industry and the role that you play in keeping a steel industry on U.S. soil.
Steel is a vital national interest.
It not only provides jobs to hundreds of thousands of American workers, it is also at the heart of our national defense. If we become reliant on foreign steel, as we are reliant on foreign oil, we will place our national security in the hands of others. We hope that you will agree that the maintenance of a viable domestic steel industry must be a cornerstone of American economic and military policy. I hope that the President will fairly consider and expeditiously accept the Congressional Steel Caucus' request for a meeting with him to discuss this matter, and other issues of interest to the domestic steel industry. President Bush has made impressive attempts to meet with members of Congress on a bipartisan basis since the beginning of his Administration, and this would be a great opportunity for him to once again reach out across party lines to understand the problems that the domestic steel industry currently faces.