The Corrosion Prevention Act of 2007 (H.R. 1770) was introduced in the US House of Representatives on March 29, 2007.  As currently written, the bill will provide a 50% tax credit on corrosion prevention investments for both new and existing privately owned structures in the US. This would have a significant impact on the US economy by making our businesses more competitive globally, creating and retaining jobs and providing incremental tax revenue to the US Treasury. It will also favorably impact the environment, safety, liability and, in turn, will reduce insurance claims and premiums.

The economic benefits provided by the implementation of comprehensive corrosion prevention strategies have long been recognized by the owners of regulated structures such as pipelines and storage tanks. It has been an accepted premise in these industries that the cost of preventing corrosion is generally one-tenth or less than the cost to replace a structure. However, this 10:1 return on investment is often unknown to many U.S. business segments whose buried, submerged, concrete-encased or atmospherically exposed metallic structures are subject to the ongoing, natural corrosion forces. These businesses will inevitably be faced with the costly burden of replacing their structures that fail due to otherwise preventable corrosion. These added costs make these businesses less competitive in the global economy, resulting in business closures and outsourcing of activities overseas. In the end, jobs and government tax revenues are needlessly lost forever.  This downward economic spiral is preventable if businesses become aware of the compelling economic benefits of employing corrosion control technologies.