[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 73 (Thursday, May 24, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H2684]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     FERC MUST INSTITUTE PRICE CAPS

  (Ms. LEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, at a time when my home State of California and 
more and more States in this country are dealing with the most severe 
energy crisis in the past several decades, I believe it is really the 
height of irresponsibility to pass huge tax cuts for the very wealthy 
while, at the same time, not even providing any assistance in the 
budget for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Also, cutting 
funding for renewable energy research and also neglecting to get a 
national energy policy in place to help consumers. This is the height 
of irresponsibility.
  The LIHEAP program helps low-income Americans pay their utility 
bills. It is severely underfunded, so we must fight for an increase in 
LIHEAP funding this year for our senior citizens and our low-income 
residents.
  Finally, this energy crisis has gotten so bad that many of our 
California State legislators and the city of Oakland have joined 
together to file a lawsuit to make sure that the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission establish just and reasonable prices. It is 
unconscionable that the price gouging continues to go on, and that our 
residents in California are going to face a very serious hot summer.
  Mr. Speaker, we must move forward with price caps. We must insist 
that our Federal Government insist that the FERC do this, and we must 
do this right away.

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