[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 106 (Tuesday, September 12, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H7398-H7399]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      PROVIDING FOR SALES OF ELECTRICITY BY THE BONNEVILLE POWER 
                             ADMINISTRATION

  Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the Senate bill (S. 1937) to amend the Pacific Northwest Electric 
Power Planning and Conservation Act to provide for sales of electricity 
by the Bonneville Power Administration to joint operating entities.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                S. 1937

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,
       Section 1. Section 5(b) of the Pacific Northwest Electric 
     Power Planning and Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 839c(b)) is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(7) Required sale.--
       ``(A) Definition of a joint operating entity.--In this 
     section, the term `joint operating entity' means an entity 
     that is lawfully organized under State law as a public body 
     or cooperative prior to the date of enactment of this 
     paragraph, and is formed by and whose members or participants 
     are two or more public bodies or cooperatives, each of which 
     was a customer of the Bonneville Power Administration on or 
     before January 1, 1999.
       ``(B) Sale.--Pursuant to paragraph (1), the Administrator 
     shall sell, at wholesale to a joint operating entity, 
     electric power solely for the purpose of meeting the regional 
     firm power consumer loads of regional public bodies and 
     cooperatives that are members of or participants in the joint 
     operating entity.
       ``(C) No resale.--A public body or cooperative to which a 
     joint operating entity sells electric power under 
     subparagraph (B) shall not resell that power except to retail 
     customers of the public body or cooperative or to another 
     regional member or participant of the same joint operating 
     entity, or except as otherwise permitted by law.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Walden) and the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. 
Faleomavaega) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden).


                             General Leave

  Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend 
their remarks on S. 1937.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Oregon?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 1937 was introduced by Senator Craig from Idaho. A 
companion bill, H.R. 4437, was introduced by the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. Hastings).
  This legislation allows consumer-owned utility systems in the Pacific 
Northwest to aggregate their power contracts from the Bonneville Power 
Administration into a single contract. The purpose is to provide 
administrative and operational efficiencies for the power purchasers 
and for Bonneville.
  The bill does not expand any such customers' rights to purchase 
requirements for power from Bonneville and does not allow resale by the 
joint operating entity of such power to customers that are not its 
members or participants.
  Mr. Speaker, I include the following letters for the Record:

                                         House of Representatives,


                                       Committee on Resources,

                                     Washington, DC, 24 July 2000.
     Hon. Tom Bliley,
     Chairman, Committee on Commerce, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: On July 19, 2000, the Committee on 
     Resources ordered favorably reported without amendment S. 
     1937, to amend the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning 
     and Conservation Act to provide for sales of electricity by 
     the Bonneville Power Administration to joint operating 
     entities. This bill was referred to the Committee on 
     Resources and additionally to the Committee on Commerce, 
     where the Subcommittee on Energy and Power has marked up and 
     forwarded the bill to the Full Commerce Committee.
       Given the rapidly approaching adjournment date for the 
     106th Congress, and several of our Pacific Northwest 
     Congressional Members' wish to move this bill as quickly as 
     possible, I ask that you allow the Committee on Commerce to 
     be discharged from further consideration of the bill. We can 
     then schedule it for Floor consideration as soon as possible 
     and send it onto the President.
       Of course, by allowing this to occur, the Committee on 
     Commerce does not waive its jurisdiction over S. 1937 or any 
     other similar matter. Although I have no reason to believe 
     that the bill would not be passed without amendment and 
     signed into law by the President, if a conference on the bill 
     became necessary, I would support the Committee on Commerce's 
     request to be named to the conference. Finally, this action 
     should not be seen as precedent for any other Senate bill 
     which affects the Committee on Commerce's jurisdiction. I 
     would be pleased to place this letter and your response in 
     the Committee on Resources' report on the bill to document 
     this agreement.
       As always, I appreciate your cooperation and that of your 
     staff in moving this bill.
           Sincerely,
                                                        Don Young,
                                                         Chairman.
                                   ____
                                 
                                         House of Representatives,


                                        Committee on Commerce,

                                    Washington, DC, July 24, 2000.
     Hon. Don Young,
     Chairman, Committee on Resources, Washington, DC.
       Dear Don: Thank you for your recent letter regarding your 
     committee's action on S. 1937, a bill to amend the Pacific 
     Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act to 
     provide for sales of electricity by the Bonneville Power 
     Administration to joint operating entities. As you know, Rule 
     X of the Rules of the House of Representatives grants the 
     Committee on Commerce jurisdiction over the generation and 
     marketing of power and the legislation was additionally 
     referred to the Committee on Commerce. As you also noted, the 
     Subcommittee on Energy and Power approved the bill for 
     consideration by the Full Committee on May 16, 2000.
       Because of the importance of this legislation, I recognize 
     your desire to bring it before the House in an expeditious 
     manner, and I will not exercise the Committee's right to 
     further consideration of this legislation. By agreeing to 
     waive its consideration of the bill, however, the Committee 
     on Commerce does not waive its jurisdiction over S. 1937. In 
     addition, the Commerce Committee reserves its authority to 
     seek conferees on any provisions of the bill that are within 
     its jurisdiction during any House-Senate conference that may 
     be convened on this legislation. I appreciate your commitment 
     to support any request by the Commerce Committee for 
     conferees on S. 1937 or similar legislation.
       I request that you include this letter and your response in 
     your committee report on the bill and as part of the Record 
     during consideration of the legislation on the House floor.
       Thank you for your attention to these matters.
           Sincerely,
                                                       Tom Bliley,
                                                         Chairman.

  Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of the bill, and I reserve the balance of 
my time.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Oregon for 
his management of this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I wish that every bill could be passed in such a fashion 
and with such strong bipartisan support and the spirit of cooperation 
on both sides of the aisle.

[[Page H7399]]

  This bill amends the Pacific Northwest Power Planning and 
Conservation Act to allow the administrator of Bonneville Power 
Administration to sell electricity at wholesale to Joint Operating 
Entities, the acronym JOEs. JOEs are comprised of public power bodies 
or cooperatives that aggregate their power contracts into a single 
contract for administrative and operational efficiencies. Under the 
bill, the power is sold solely for the purpose of meeting regional firm 
power consumer loads of regional public bodies and cooperatives that 
are members of the JOE. Other Federal power marketing agencies 
currently make similar aggregate sales. The Bonneville Power 
Administration, for example, also makes aggregated sales for 
transmission contracts and nonfirm and surplus power sales.
  Mr. Speaker, the bill is narrowly drawn to allow only JOEs that were 
in existence as of the date of enactment to participate. It does not 
expand purchasers' rights or ability to resell power other than to 
their own retail customers or other JOE members, or as otherwise 
permitted by law.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the Senate bill, S. 1937.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________