Congresswoman Carol Miller (R-WV) participated in the annual State of the Steel hearing held by the Congressional Steel Caucus. The event brought together leaders from the steel industry, as well as trade and labor representatives, to discuss challenges and opportunities facing American steel and its workforce.
During her remarks, Congresswoman Miller highlighted the importance of strengthening domestic steel production to protect jobs and reduce reliance on foreign countries. She also spoke about how past policies have negatively affected West Virginia’s steel and energy sectors.
“Thank you so much. And I want to thank all of you for being here today for this important event. I’m also glad that the Administration and my colleagues in Congress are recognizing the importance of our domestic steel industry.
Steel is vital for bolstering our national security by reducing dependence on the other nations and creating thousands of good-paying jobs. I can’t emphasize enough the importance that has played in revitalizing my district.
I married my West Virginian in 1973. That was the year that the number of Members of Congress was reduced from 5 to 4 because of the previous census. I moved into a charming small town. I came from Columbus, Ohio. Huntington had 85,000 people in it. Today there are [47,000]. That’s such an example of what bad policy can do to our people, our states, and our jobs. And so many people had to leave our state so they could feed their families. They went elsewhere. I mean even today, when the Biden Administration closed the pipeline on the West Coast, 300 West Virginians had to come home because they’d lost their jobs. So I’m very, very sensitive to this,” said Congresswoman Miller.
She mentioned local companies within her district that contribute significantly to steel production, including a new Nucor plant in Mason County expected to create over 800 jobs with an annual output of three million tons of sheet steel. Miller also referenced Cleveland-Cliffs’ operations employing around 400 workers who produce coke and pulverized coal injections.
“As a member of the Trade subcommittee on Ways and Means, I understand the importance of implementing policies that both protect our domestic steel production and increase exports from other nations.
Mr. Goncalves, many of President Trump’s priorities related to reshoring American manufacturing, stopping unfair trade, and addressing steel over-capacity by taking real policy actions are top steel industry issues that you have talked about for years. How is Cleveland-Cliffs positioned to take advantage of these policies and to help the Administration deliver on a manufacturing renaissance?” asked Congresswoman Miller.
Lourenco Goncalves, President and CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs, responded: “Thank you very much for the question, Congresswoman. And I fully understand your point of view and we are on the same page on that.
Keep in mind, what happened in West Virginia and Ohio and Pennsylvania and in Illinois and Indiana was made in USA. We allowed those imports to come in. Society was complacent in saving pennies and losing dollars and we continue to do that. If you don’t pay attention, it will happen again. The Trump Administration is putting a stop on this, but it’s the job of, in my opinion, the job of Congress to not allow the deterioration of the process by allowing small things to become big things.
West Virginia was at the heart of our ability to produce energy in this country. We gave it away. When we acquired the Case Steel in 2020, the only plant that produced gray-oriented electrical steel was shut down. So we are ready. We have the technology, we have the plants, we have the people, we have the technology. We need support in order to make sure that end users will not jeopardize what we have,” responded Mr. Goncalves.
Carol Miller has represented West Virginia’s 1st district since replacing Evan Jenkins in 2019 (https://miller.house.gov/about). Before serving in Congress she spent over a decade as a member of West Virginia’s House of Delegates from 2006 until 2018 (https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/M001206). Born in Columbus, Ohio in 1950, Miller currently lives in Huntington (https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/biography/117584/carol-miller). She earned her BA from Columbia College in South Carolina (https://miller.house.gov/about).
