New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney introduced a bill that would require contractors on Port Authority of New York and New Jersey projects to use steel made in the USA unless the agency can justify a waiver.
The bill
- Sweeney, D-Gloucester, introduced the measure, S-2061, on Tuesday, May 6, 2014. He is an ironworker by trade and a vice president of the International Association of Ironworkers.
- Because the Port Authority is a two-state agency, identical legislation must also pass in New York. Sweeney said he was still looking for a New York sponsor.
- If enacted, it would apply to many projects in the $27.6 billion, 10-year capital plan the Port Authority approved in February 2014.
Why now
Sweeney said the bill was prompted by a September 2013 Star-Ledger report on the Bayonne Bridge roadway project, where the agency allowed a mix of Chinese and USA steel. The contractor, a partnership of Kiewit and Skanska, later switched to Italian steel along with some USA steel.
The Port Authority declined to comment on the bill. Agency officials noted that the $1.5 billion Goethals Bridge replacement is subject to a federal requirement that 99.9% of materials be produced domestically, while its request for proposals for the $3.6 billion LaGuardia Central Terminal Building replacement calls for at least 51% domestic materials.
Sweeney said USA steel supports jobs and national security and can save money over time. Daniel Ikenson, a trade policy specialist at the Cato Institute, called the bill a misguided appeal to patriotism that would raise the cost of public projects.
Source & credit
Source: NJ.com / The Star-Ledger: “For Port Authority projects, Sweeney wants steel ‘made in USA’”, by Steve Strunsky, May 8, 2014.