[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 70 (Monday, May 21, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H2378]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CORRECTING RECENT MISSTATEMENTS MADE ON THE FLOOR REGARDING PRESIDENT 
                BUSH AND THE ENERGY CRISIS IN CALIFORNIA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Grucci). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise not just in opposition but in absolute 
dismay that for the last hour my colleagues have spoken so many 
disingenuous statements that I absolutely had to come to the well. I 
did not plan on speaking today. It was only watching this from my 
office that made me realize how important it was that somebody come 
here without a prepared speech but with a few of the facts that can set 
the record straight.
  First of all, I think the most important one is when Members start to 
talk about dollars given to the President, they should be very careful 
not to say they came from companies. In fact, President Bush accepted 
no soft dollars. He did not receive a single penny from the utility 
companies, as was alleged, or from any other companies.
  My colleagues simply looked at the employers of individual 
contributors, or the sources of employees, individual employees from 
PACs who gave to President Bush. If we went to the other side, any of 
the other candidates, we would find the same. It is wrong to talk about 
money as being tainted when it comes from individual Americans, as 
every penny President Bush received did.
  Additionally, my friends forget to note that Governor Gray Davis 
showed an absence of leadership for 2 full years on this subject, and 
President Clinton showed an absence of any regard for California as our 
prices skyrocketed. It was only when President Bush was sworn in that 
the FERC, under his leadership, began ordering price rollbacks and 
refunds for excess charges.
  More importantly, I am here to speak for the President, not because I 
have his permission, but because he will not speak for himself. He will 
not defend himself. He has led both sides of this aisle, and refused to 
disparage those who disparage him.
  President Bush has made an unprecedented reaching out to the other 
side to ask for what they want done, and he has tried to grant every 
single request he could. In the President's first 100 days, he invited 
Republicans and Democrats to the White House on more than ten 
occasions. Once, the entire House was invited.
  One of the most heinous of all lies that was told here tonight, maybe 
unintended but certainly untrue, was that these prices have 
skyrocketed. When they quote the prices that are available on the spot 
market, they quote the last kilowatt, the last megawatt, that was 
purchased on a daily basis.
  I think it is only fair that the people of California and of Oregon 
and of Washington recognize that these companies that deliver power now 
have the power to lock in long-term rates again. Those companies in 
California, such as the city of Los Angeles and other municipal 
authorities, enjoy much lower prices because they have long-term 
commitments and buy very little on the spot market.
  Even today, most of the private power under the Governor's control in 
the State of California is bought on the spot market. Once the Governor 
shows the leadership to get those long-term contracts in place, those 
contracts are at dramatically lower prices, nearly where they should 
be.
  There was a claim here tonight of criminal collusion, of conspiracy. 
I challenge my colleagues here tonight to find any evidence of that, 
and if they do, I will challenge the administration and the Attorney 
General to prosecute. But to simply sit on the floor and claim that 
unlawful behavior is going on is intolerable.
  The President in his first 100 days has taken on conservation, and in 
a big way. The President has announced that, unlike the previous 
administration that for 8 years did not improve CAFE standards a bit, 
that he will improve vehicle economy, fuel economy, and environmental 
standards, if for no other reason than that it is the right thing to 
do.
  He has announced that SUVs in the near future will no longer be 
exempted, as they once were. They will not be treated as light trucks, 
they will soon be treated as automobiles, thus bringing an end to one 
of the most illogical growths in gas guzzlers ever to face America.
  I have little time here tonight, and so much that I could rebuff. I 
wish I could go on longer, because the people of California need to 
know and need to hear that lower prices will come from leadership, 
which has not been shown in California and has been shown in 
Washington.

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