Mark Holman: We are — and always will be — the Steel City

My career with former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge has taken me to Washington, D.C., but I couldn’t be more Pittsburgh. I’m a Gateway Gator, IUP alum and proud Steelers season ticketholder. I even bought a six pack of Washington Capitals tickets just so I could get the best seats for the Penguins when they play in DC.

My mother was Pittsburgh icon Elsie Hillman’s secretary. Elsie was my fairy godmother in politics.

My career started with, and was molded by, the late Sen. John Heinz, the absolute leader in the U.S. Senate on trade issues critical to the steel industry. And you know what? I think the Nippon investment offer is a great deal for U.S. Steel, for Pennsylvania and specifically for the Pittsburgh region.

I grew up and started my career during the steel industry meltdown in America. I was not happy when the USS Tower bore the name of a local health care provider. Heinz worked tirelessly to reverse the decline. He had a fantastic relationship with the United Steel Workers. Business leaders, Republicans and Democrats all worked to save our domestic steel production.

In 1982 I continued my career with Ridge, whose congressional district was struggling to keep the steel industry alive in the Shenango Valley and Erie. He joined the fight with Heinz to help restore the industry. A $5 million federal grant we secured helped save Sharon Steel at the time.

When Ridge was governor, he pursued foreign investment from our allies vigorously. One of the his trade missions, with Team Pennsylvania leaders, was a successful trip to Japan. One of the daunting challenges of our first year in office was the pursuit of funds to restart shipbuilding in Philadelphia. With the governor leading the way and working with then-Mayor Ed Rendell, Johnstown’s Rep. John Murtha, President Bill Clinton, and local labor and business leaders, we pulled it off and we are building ships in Philadelphia. None of this would have happened without foreign investment mixed with broad public support.

While the governor and our team were focused on a revitalization of Pennsylvania’s economy, our nation was attacked on 9/11 and our world view changed. In the post-9/11 White House, serving then Homeland Security adviser Ridge, I was immersed in national security issues. One of our lessons learned was that we need our allies more, not less. In today’s world, our nation’s relationship with Japan is a critical counterbalance to China in Southeast Asia and globally.

From what I have read, the knowledge gained over many decades in public service, and in conversations with clients who are familiar with the proposed purchase, this deal is good news. The labor agreement with the United Steel Workers will be honored with no expected job loss. Executives from USS will remain in Pittsburgh, which might not have been the case if another suitor was successful. A $15 billion all-cash investment is clearly good for the employees, shareholders and Southwestern Pennsylvania. And the name, United States Steel, remains. There is a lot to like.

Major foreign investments in the United States all go through a rigorous review by the Committee on Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The Department of Treasury will lead this important process which will have input from 16 executive branch agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security. It will be critical that the CFIUS review process be guided by the facts, not politics. While I am confident this process will be fair, you never know here in Washington, where politics permeates everything. Time will tell.

In the ’70s and ‘80s, the future of domestic steel production looked bleak. Today, we have allies willing to invest billions in our domestic steel-making capability. Change may be uncomfortable, but it is inevitable. Just ask members of Congress trying to figure out how to regulate artificial intelligence. But some things don’t change, and, in my view, Pittsburgh will always be the Steel City. It’s in our DNA.

Mark Holman, longtime chief of staff to former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge and deputy assistant to the president for Homeland Security in the George W. Bush White House, is a partner at Ridge Policy Group in Washington, D.C.