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Charleston, SC- Today, Congressman Henry E. Brown, Jr. (R-SC) toured the Pegasus Steel fabrication facility and met with several employees including CEO, Tony Deering, to discuss the future of the plant and the effects that a national energy tax, like the Cap and Trade bill that passed the House last month, would have on the steel manufacturing industry. Following the tour, Congressman Brown made the following remarks:
“The steel manufacturers and processors of South Carolina, like Pegasus, once contributed $540 million annually to our state’s economy and provided over 3,000 permanent jobs in the state. Unfortunately, hard economic times recently forced Mittal Steel Mill in Georgetown to close their doors indefinitely, putting 245 South Carolinians out of work and reducing business for the local port.
Legislation like the Democrat Cap & Trade bill, forced through the House in July, will only worsen this trend and result in additional shuttered plants here at home and across the nation. The restrictive standards and taxes that will be placed on the manufacturing industry will result in local plants like Nucor to face an instant inability to compete internationally. This will cause steel processors like Pegasus to suffer a reduction in viable, cost competitive domestic sources of steel, and ultimately, more South Carolinians will find themselves out of work and their jobs sent overseas.
My Republican colleagues and I vow to continue working towards solutions for prosperity and legislation that will create jobs and support the vital American manufacturing industry.”
Pegasus CEO, Tony Deering, in addition to lamenting the Cap and Trade’s negative impact on U. S. steel manufacturing capacity, observed that the legislation provides no support for nuclear power, a viable, sustainable non-greenhouse gas electric energy source. “Nuclear plants, like those announced by regional utilities, are critical to meeting the projected energy needs of South Carolina residents and employers,” said Deering. “To exclude this vital component of our domestic energy mix, and source of tremendous local construction and operation employment opportunities, does a disservice to both our current and future South Carolina residents and economic strength.”
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