Rep. Kelly amendment to save Pennsylvania steel jobs passes House with bipartisan support

An amendment by U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) that would repeal a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) rule threatening steel jobs passed the House on Tuesday.

The amendment, part of the “Hands Off Our Home Appliances” Act, will repeal a DOE final rule announced last month that would require up to 25 percent of distribution transformers to use amorphous steel cores which threatens grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) production and would threaten more than 1,300 jobs at the Cleveland-Cliffs Butler Works plant in Butler, Pa.

“I said it then and I’ll say it again: I was encouraged by the Department of Energy’s final rule, but I was not satisfied,” Kelly said. “The Biden Administration’s track record on domestic energy policy gives me zero reassurance that they will support these 1,300 workers or the Butler community when this final rule takes effect in 2029. The administration should not be picking winners and losers. Fully repealing this rule would eliminate heavy-handed government involvement and potentially allow for even more jobs for the Butler Works plant because of increased demand for distribution transformers nationwide. We must end this wrongheaded, job-killing rule once and for all.”

Kelly said GOES is an essential part of distribution transformers, and is essential to national security, as amorphous steel is largely sourced from overseas.

The amendment is co-sponsored by U.S. Reps. Richard Hudson (R-NC) and Troy Balderson (R-OH), members of the House Committee on Energy & Commerce.

“One of the many lessons we learned from the Moore County 2022 grid attack is that we cannot afford disruptions to our grid,” Hudson said. “This amendment to the Hands off our Home Appliances Act helps protect our nation’s grid security and unleash reliable American energy production.”