Members of the Illinois Senate have overwhelmingly passed Senate Resolution 254, which calls on President Obama and Congress to take action to save the U.S. steel industry. The resolution is sponsored by State Sen. Sam McCann (R-Carlinville).

“When we talk about the American steel industry, we’re talking about a massive number of good paying jobs,” said Senator McCann. “America became a superpower largely because of its industrial capacity. We can’t allow our core industries to die because of unfair trade practices and cheap foreign imports.”

SR 254 specifically asks the President and Congress to review national policy on steel tariffs, and to allow tariffs to preserve the demand for domestic steel, much the way they did when former President Bush enacted steel tariffs in 2002. The resolution also calls for the consideration of all possible trade and economic policies that can protect the steel industry.

SR254 was partly inspired by the recent announcement by US Steel Corp. that it would shutter its Granite City plant.

“We can’t let any more jobs disappear because we refused to act,” said Sen. McCann. “It’s not too late to save steel plants across the country. I implore our President and members of Congress to take action now.”

Copies of SR254 will be presented to the U.S. President, Vice-President, and the 4 legislative leaders of Congress.