Budzinski Advocates for Continued Granite City Steel Investments at Congressional Hearing

The hearing hosted by the Congressional Steel Caucus included testimony from U.S. Steel and the United Steelworkers

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) participated in a hearing hosted by the Congressional Steel Caucus to advocate for long-term investment in Granite City Works. Budzinski, who has worked alongside the United Steelworkers to protect steel jobs in Illinois' 13th District throughout her two terms, emphasized the need for concrete commitments from U.S. Steel to continue their operations in Granite City past 2027.

"Today, we have an important and unique opportunity to work together - policymakers, labor, and business alike - to find a workable, sustainable path forward to ensure the economic security of the Granite City facility for years to come," Budzinski said in her opening remarks. "Our goal is not just to keep the lights on until 2027; it is to ensure that Granite City is part of the next generation of American manufacturing."

The "State of the Steel" hearing included testimony from U.S. Steel CEO and President David Burritt, as well as United Steelworkers District 7 Director Mike Millsap.

You can watch Budzinski's opening remarks HERE, and find her remarks as prepared for delivery below:

Thank you, Chairman Crawford and Vice Chairman Mrvan, for holding this hearing, and thank you to our witnesses for your testimony.

For over 125 years, the steelworkers of Granite City have been the backbone of American infrastructure.

But for too long, these families have lived under a cloud of uncertainty, bouncing between idled blast furnaces and 'temporary restarts.'

Recently, through tireless advocacy, the USW and the Granite City secured a key victory: relighting a blast furnace at Granite City Works, bringing back hundreds of jobs to the facility.

However, we cannot settle for short-term fixes. U.S. Steel has yet to commit to operations beyond mid-2027.

Today, we have an important and unique opportunity to work together - policymakers, labor, and business alike - to find a workable, sustainable path forward to ensure the economic security of the Granite City facility for years to come.

Our goal is not just to keep the lights on until 2027; it is to ensure that Granite City is part of the next generation of American manufacturing.

With that, I have a few questions for our witnesses.

###