ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — Sen. Charles Schumer of New York is calling on the Defense Department to restore the requirement that all steel used in military contracts be made in the United States.
Schumer is visiting Klein Steel in Rochester, N.Y. this morning. He says the military got all of its steel from domestic producers like Klein for 35 years until 2009, when the Defense Department dropped the made-in-the-USA requirement as demand soared due to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Now that the Iraq war has ended, Schumer says ample U.S. manufacturers exist to meet the military's demand.
Schumer says reinstating the rule would likely bring new work to Klein, which currently employs more than 200 in Rochester.