Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick called out Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) for an unrealized $1.5 billion U.S. Steel investment in the Mon Valley during their ABC 27 debate Thursday night.
McCormick’s comment came while he fielded a question about potentially blocking the $14 billion sale of U.S. Steel to Japanese company Nippon Steel.
“Generally speaking, my view will be let’s not have the government get too involved, like Senator Casey is always government. But in cases of national security, where a domestic steel industry truly is important for America’s future, then I think you’ve got to intervene,’ McCormick said.
“And in this case, even though Japan’s an ally, Nippon owns operations around the world, in China, Iran, Russia, and elsewhere. And I think this does pose national security concerns that you’d have to work through. So I’m opposed for that reason,” he added.
McCormick then blasted Casey over an unrealized investment U.S. Steel had pledged to make in the Mon Valley several years ago that was nixed after the pandemic. Part of the reason the $1.5 billion upgrade to U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley operations fell through was because “the Allegheny County Health Department halted the permitting process because of the challenges the coronavirus posed to the public comment process,” the Associated Press noted.
In April 2021, U.S. Steel canceled the investment and announced a $3 billion steel plant in Arkansas less than a year later.
“U.S. Steel was actually going to invest billions of dollars in the Mon Valley a few years ago, and instead, it took a new plant to Arkansas. The reason it took a new plant to Arkansas was because the Allegheny County government blocked the new project on environmental grounds,” McCormick said.
“Now, if I was the senior senator from Pennsylvania, I’d be standing on the desk of the people of Allegheny County getting that great investment and those jobs here. This is the kind of failure of leadership that’s taking Pennsylvania in the wrong direction,” he added.
While responding, Casey said McCormick does not have “standing to talk about what should have been done in Pennsylvania” and falsely accused McCormick of saying in his answer that he “favored” steel jobs being outsourced to Arkansas.
McCormick followed up, calling out Casey for his bald-faced lie.
“What you said is exactly the opposite of what I just said. I said it was because of regulations, because of Pennsylvania not making itself attractive enough that those jobs left,” McCormick said.
“You should have been a leader in breaking through those regulations and those bureaucrats and that red tape to allow that investment to come to Pennsylvania. We lost those jobs because of you and your failure and your absolute lack of leadership, which is a pattern,” McCormick added.
He then challenged Casey to point out an example of when he has “stood up and made a huge difference for Pennsylvania” in his nearly two decades as a senator.
“You are a weak senator. You’re a liberal senator. You’re a career politician who wants to have it both ways,” McCormick declared. “Pennsylvania deserves better. We’re in a time of crisis.”
