(HARRISBURG) – Senator Devlin Robinson (R-37) issued the following statement on the decision by U.S. Steel to cancel its nearly $1.5 billion rolling mill and co-generation plant at its Mon Valley works:
“More than 4,000 family-sustaining jobs are gone or in peril because bureaucrats and paper pushers chose to put special interests above those of our local employers and their families. U.S. Steel was forced to make a decision that deals a crushing blow to the economic future of the Pittsburgh region.
“Wednesday night President Biden said there was no reason why wind turbines couldn’t be built in Pittsburgh and not Beijing. This is a prime example of why not – an activist local government agency that hides behind the environment in order to crush local economic growth. The reality is that a healthy, growing economy allows us to invest in the environment.
“This project was an investment in the environment and the economy. The state-of-the-art equipment and other investments U.S. Steel was willing to make at these facilities would have reduced emissions by 60 percent. The interdependence of the economy and a healthy environment cannot be minimized.
“This is devasting to our local families and raises the fear, yet again, that the legacy of steelmaking in Pittsburgh may be permanently lost.”
CONTACT: Elizabeth Weitzel