ssina letter to sen levin(1)

8/3/2019 SSINA Letter to Sen Levin(1)

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3050 K Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20007

Telephone: (202) 342-8630 Fax: (202) 342-8451 Toll-Free: (800) 982-0355

November 17, 2011

BYHANDDELIVERY

Honorable Carl Levin

Chairman

Committee on Armed Services

U.S. Senate

Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chairman Levin:

I am writing to you as Chairman of the Specialty Steel Industry of North America

(SSINA), the national trade association comprised of virtually all North American manufacturersof specialty steel and nickel-based alloys, including superalloys. SSINA members also produce

such strategic materials as titanium and titanium alloys, cobalt alloys, zirconium and niobium

alloys. These materials are critical to our defense industrial base, and virtually every militaryplatform is dependent on their availability. So too, is the production of every military aircraft.

SSINA companies represent most of the leading U.S. producers of the specialty metals

covered by 10 USC 2533b, the Specialty Metals Amendment, which requires that U.S.-producedspecialty metals be used in defense weapons systems.

We write respectfully to bring to your attention our concerns regarding a certainprovision in the Committee version of the Fiscal Year 2012 National Defense Authorization Act

that could seriously jeopardize the United States defense industrial base and more than 10,000

highly skilled manufacturing jobs in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Nevada, New York, North Carolina,South Carolina and many other states across America.

Section 846 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 would createa new exception waiving the domestic specialty metal requirement for a U.S. manufacturer upon

a determination by the Department of Defense that in the absence of a waiver, a componentwould be produced overseas in an MOU country using foreign specialty metals. In other words,


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a component manufacturer could simply go to the Department of Defense and ask for a waiver ofthe domestic sourcing requirement based on an assertion that it might lose the business to an

offshore producer not subject to the requirement.

While this might appear inconsequential, Section 846 could severely jeopardize the

defense supply chain and could lead to a loss of U.S. jobs. We urge you to support the efforts by

several of your Senate colleagues to have Section 846 stricken before the NDAA is adopted bythe Senate.

Section 846 solves no problem in the existing law, but rather creates one. It would

establish a loophole that swallows the underlying law by encouraging use of specialty metals

from Russia, China or other foreign sources in U.S. defense products, even when high-quality

domestic specialty metals are readily available from SSINA member companies at fair andreasonable prices.

The change proposed by Section 846 was not formally requested by the Defense

Department. Neither have there been any hearings or oversight activities to consider the

negative impact the provision will have on the domestic defense industrial base. Section 846 isalso duplicative. The provision creates an exception to the current domestic sourcing

requirement in instances where a specialty metal melted or produced in the U.S. cannot be

acquired as and when needed at a fair and reasonable price. Such authority, however, already

exists in the form of an availability exception included in current DoD regulations. Other

exceptions also are readily available under existing law to permit purchases for national securityreasons or to support contingency and combat operations abroad.

Mr. Chairman. Section 846 will benefit no significant stakeholder. It will, however,

undermine the delicate balance between supplier and customer that was achieved when theSpecialty Metals Amendment was last amended. This is why this section should not even be

adopted by the U.S. Senate, let alone the entire Congress. We ask that you not just accede to

removal of this provision in conference, but instead request that it be stricken from the bill so it

is not adopted by the Senate.

The U.S. specialty metals industry is modern, efficient, and is at the leading edge in both

new product development and the implementation of advanced manufacturing technology fordefense applications. The Specialty Metals Amendment has been an important factor in our


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Specialty Steel Industry of North America


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industry achieving this success, and we ask that you move quickly to end this threat to thedefense supply chain and strike this provision from the FY 2012 Senate bill.

Respectfully,

Sunil Widge

Chairman, Specialty Steel Industry

of North America

Senior Vice President Strategic Business

Development& Governmental Affairs

Carpenter Technology Corporation

ssina letter to sen levin(1)

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