Rep. Ro Khanna Represents California. So Why Did He Hold an Event in Pennsylvania

Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul, left, chats with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) during an event at the Green Diamond Services Industrial Complex in Johnstown, Pa. Photo courtesy Scott Wong

Khanna, who grew up in the Keystone State, is the sponsor of the Modern Steel Act, which aims to strengthen America's national industry. Labor, environmental, and business groups are all backing the effort.

It's not every day that a California congressman who represents Silicon Valley hosts a big event at the site of an old Pennsylvania factory.

But Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) has a vision of strengthening America's steel industry in the 21st century. That vision, laid out in new legislation called the Modern Steel Act, would see a robust steel industry that's environmentally friendly, union-represented, and state-of-the-art. And Khanna wants to do it in America's old steel towns, bringing new life to the communities who built our nation.

So Khanna came to Johnstown, Pa., kicking off his new initiative inside the long-shuttered Bethlehem Steel railcar wheel plant.

"I think more people should do that out of Congress, get out of their own district, get out in the country and learn from places which they may not represent. And I think we'd have a better Congress, a better government," Khanna told NBC News. "So it's certainly helped my economic policy. It's certainly helped my understanding of America. And I think it'll help me no matter where my ambition takes me."

Khanna was joined at the event by a host of labor, environmental, and industry leaders, including our own President Scott Paul, United Steelworkers (USW) International President Dave McCall, Cleveland-Cliffs Vice President for Government Relations Patrick Bloom, and representatives from an eclectic mix of organizations like the American Iron and Steel Institute, the BlueGreen Alliance, the Sierra Club and the Rocky Mountain Institute.

The Modern Steel Act would provide $10 billion in cost-share grants, low-interest loans and other financing for the construction of new steel plants that produce near-zero emissions iron and/or steel.

In his remarks at the event, Paul said that "the door is now open for American steel to grow and transform."

Trade enforcement action undertaken by both the Trump and Biden administrations has meant the United States is finally "standing up to the unfair trade practices and overcapacity of China and other nations," Paul said. That trade enforcement has allowed industrial policies like the Inflation Reduction Act, CHIPS and Science Act, and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to begin to take root. There's now new recognition that a steel job - particularly a union steel job - can provide a solid, family-supporting career.

"Now that's a solid foundation on which to build," Paul said. "To move us forward, we'll need efforts like Congressman Khanna's Modern Steel Act to spur capital investment and expansion to meet our domestic needs, instead of relying so much on less sustainable imports. That means more American steel, more steelworkers, and more economic and national security for us all."

Indeed, the will to do so is there. U.S. steel companies like Cleveland-Cliffs already are working hard to lower carbon emissions and open new factories. The company announced in March that the Energy Department had awarded it $575 million in funds to pursue decarbonization investments at two of its facilities, Middletown Works in Ohio and Butler Works in Pennsylvania.

The goal now is to grow the steel industry further, with a strong focus on building new, modern facilities in the areas hit hardest by deindustrialization while also leading the way on lowering carbon emissions.

"These are going to be modern plants," Khanna said. "It's combining the future with the heritage of our past for a way forward for America (with) new industries, but the same types of jobs that people's parents and grandparents did, just in a modern form. They're going to be cleaner. They're going to be safer. And they're going to be good-paying."

AAM Field Coordinators Lou Delatore, left, and Mark Musho also attended the event in Johnstown.

The Sierra Club praised the introduction of the Modern Steel Act, saying it "will aim to reduce toxic pollution, combat climate change, advance security, and protect and create good-paying union jobs for American workers."

"With clean manufacturing, we no longer have to choose between building a strong economy, creating good-paying jobs, and ensuring clean air and water in our communities," said CeCe Grant, the organization's industrial campaign director. "Due to investments from the Inflation Reduction Act, we have the technology, the workforce, and the capital we need to transform our industrial sector."

"The only thing we need now, is courage and innovation from leaders like Congressman Ro Khanna, to step into a more sustainable future," Grant continued. "Being an environmentalist is not just about saving polar bears. It's also about the rebirth of our domestic manufacturing in places like western Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan. It's about reinvesting in communities that have been left behind."

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