[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 82 (Wednesday, June 13, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H3078]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   STOP GOUGING PEOPLE IN CALIFORNIA

  (Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, it is not bad enough 
that the energy wholesalers selling energy into California have been 
able to continue to gouge the California consumer, California families 
and small businesses, but now we see that the energy companies have 
joined with the White House, joined with the Republicans in Congress to 
launch a campaign that, according to CNN, may spend upwards to $50 
million by the energy companies to convince Californians that price 
caps on wholesale energy costs would be bad for them.
  The suggestion is that somehow the price gouging that is going on now 
in California and in the western United States is good for consumers. 
Yet, we see that, in California, more and more households are unable to 
pay their energy bills. More and more small businesses are at risk or 
have already gone out of business because of energy costs. We are 
starting to see individuals make decisions about locating businesses in 
California.
  The White House and its buddies in the energy business ought to stay 
out of this. What they ought to do is stop gouging the people in 
California.

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