Ruppersberger Issues Statement About Steel Plant Sale

U.S. Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger on Friday issued the following statement regarding Wednesday's sale of RG Steel's Sparrows Point stell plant to an industrial liquidator:

“The Sparrows Point plant and its steelworkers have produced the steel that has literally built our country for the last 120 years. It could and should continue for another 120 years. With a prime location in one of the best deep-water ports in the United States, one of the country’s largest blast furnaces, a state-of-the-art continuous cold rolling mill and the world’s best workers, it remains a viable operation for a smart buyer with access to raw materials. While this week’s auction did not produce this buyer, it did buy time to find one over the next six months. The hard-working men and women of Sparrows Point stand at the ready and those of us on the local, state and federal levels stand firmly by them.

When America’s auto makers hit hard times, our country rallied behind them. The American auto industry has returned to profitability and has added more than 200,000 jobs since June 2009. The cost to taxpayers was far less than if the companies had collapsed.

Now, our steel manufacturers need our help. They are falling behind competitors in China and Japan and require creative solutions. We must forge new partnerships between government and the private sector, fight unfair foreign export restraints on important raw materials, create incentives for manufacturers to grow and hire and invest in rebuilding our country’s infrastructure.”