Rep. Miller-Meeks won her seat in congress in 2020 by six votes after a controversial recount.

U.S. Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) is widely cited by Reuters and national election forecasters as one of the most vulnerable Republicans in Congress ahead of the November 3, 2026, midterm elections. [1, 2, 3].

State Representative Elinor Levin from Iowa City had some clear eyed observations about the proposed mega steel mill in Lee county, Iowa.

Video first, text below.

HSB785 – MEGA Expansion Steel Deal

Thank you Speaker, and good afternoon colleagues of the House. I also live in SE Iowa. It is my chosen home, and where I have been knocking doors and hearing from Iowans who are struggling. I want 5-6000 union construction jobs in my labor shed. I want 1750 long-term union steel jobs in my labor shed. And, I want us to be an excellent steward of taxpayer’s funds and Iowans’ health.

I am pleased to see that there are certain service and jobs benchmarks for government payouts for these tax credits, but what I don’t see is investment or financing benchmarks or incentives. Which are, from what I’ve learned over the past 48-72 hours that we’ve had to vet this proposal, pretty much an industry standard. Oftentimes, these provisions are put in place instead of clawbacks, ensuring that the financing is clearly in place and verified before funds, entrusted to us by taxpayers, are laid out. Mesabi Metallics does not, in my opinion, have the experience or market capitalization to pull off this project, and if I am correct, which I hope I am not, I don’t want to see Iowans left on the line.

I also note that, in researching steel manufacturing in the US, I found that profitability is a real struggle for this industry. And, what concerns me is that, when I tried to get into the numbers for this project, it seems like profitability for this particular proposal would ride on two things. The current steel tariffs lasting 30 years, which, as far as I could tell, no one in the investment market foresees being the case AND a waiver of EPA regulations that are vital for the health and safety of my neighbors in SE Iowa.

I see nothing in this particular piece of legislation that guarantees that these will be Iowa jobs. I think this could be great economic development for SE Iowa families, but it also might employ a whole bunch of Illinois families and Missouri families, who live just as close to the proposed location and who will NOT be investing in the project.

I see nothing in this proposal that ensures that any infrastructure that is built or developed, whether it is energy infrastructure, building infrastructure, roads infrastructure, is guaranteed to be publicly owned should the project not come to completion. Seems to me that if Iowans invest in this project, Iowans should have some ownership of what comes out of it, especially if we don’t get to see the actual jobs developed, or if this doesn’t last long-term.

I will also mention one other thing I have learned from my research, which is that it is an industry standard to require companies such as the one proposing to build in Iowa to build and maintain environmental preserve on site and to establish an endowment fund, untouchable even in case of bankruptcy, to offset the unprecedented impacts from the steel industry on water, air, and soil and to pay for cleanup of the site in the event of closure, rather than add monumental costs for that cleanup to the people of SE Iowa.

None of that is in this proposal.

I come here during session and I come when called for special session, to try to do good things for Iowans, not to sign off on a campaign ad for Representative Miller-Meeks.