Steel Industry Wants Infrastructure Investment in Next Stimulus Legislation

​Five steel industry groups are pushing Congress to include significant infrastructure investment in the next phase of COVID-19 stimulus legislation. The goal is to provide a clear path toward our nation’s recovery.

The letter was sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer, according to a steel.org report. The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA), The Committee on Pipe and Tube Imports (CPTI), and Specialty Steel Industry of North America (SSINA) reiterated that 38% of America’s 616,000 bridges are in need of replacement or rehabilitation.
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“Making a long-term and robust infrastructure investment now will not only respond to the urgent
transportation system needs, but it also will create high-paying jobs allowing businesses and families to recover from this extremely difficult economic shock,” they wrote. “With such a staggering backlog of substandard bridges, there is significant opportunity to put Americans back to work and back on the road to economic recovery.

“We can…improve quality of life in our cities, towns, and rural areas and drive commerce and supplies across our nation by making infrastructure investment a critical component of the next stimulus package by including Buy America provisions and using domestically produced and fabricated steel.”

The groups concluded that the infrastructure supply chain for steel products used in highway and bridge construction “starts with American steel producers, who have revolutionized the industry by developing clean and efficient steelmaking processes at mills located strategically throughout the country,” noting that steel is sold directly or through national distributors to construction companies and steel fabricators who have built plants, and created jobs, in virtually every congressional district in America.