[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 92 (Wednesday, July 10, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S6575]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN:
  S. 2716. A bill to modify the authority of the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission to conduct investigations, to increase the 
criminal penalties for violations of the Federal Power Act and the 
Natural Gas Act, and to authorize the Chairman of the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission to contract for consultant services; to the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, I am pleased to introduce this bill 
today to strengthen the authority of the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission. In May, 2000 an energy crisis began in California and 
eventually spread to the other Western States. For about a year, FERC 
refused to execute its mandate to enforce the provisions of the Federal 
Power Act which required the Agency to enforce ``just and reasonable'' 
electricity prices.
  In May, 2001 Pat Wood became the Chairman of the Commission and under 
his leadership the Commission has finally begun to aggressively 
investigate what went wrong in the California and Western energy 
markets.
  However, there are still some weaknesses in FERC's authority to 
investigate problems in energy markets, solicit necessary information 
and punish wrongdoers. A report by the General Accounting Office, GAO, 
last month concluded that FERC does not have the necessary legal 
authority to police competitive energy markets.
  This legislation is designed to bolster FERC's authority and allow 
the Agency to levy penalties that will hold market manipulators 
accountable for violations of the law. This legislation will go a long 
way toward providing FERC with the resources and legal authority it 
needs to protect consumers and ensure that energy prices are just and 
reasonable.
  My legislation would do five things: 1. It would grant FERC the 
authority to use monetary penalties on companies that don't comply with 
requests for information. This is essentially the same authority that 
the Securities and Exchange Commission has; 2. It would make it easier 
for FERC to hire the necessary outside help they need including 
accountants, lawyers, and investigators for investigative purposes; 3. 
It would eliminate the requirement that FERC receive approval from the 
Office of Management and Budget before launching an investigation or 
price discovery of electricity or natural gas markets involving more 
than 10 companies; 4. It would increase the penalty amounts to $1 
million instead of the current $5,000 for violations of the Federal 
Power Act and the Natural Gas Act; five years instead of the current 
two for violations of the statute; and, $50,000 per day per violation 
instead of the current $500 for violations of rules or orders under the 
Federal Power Act and the Natural Gas Act; and 5. It would increase the 
Commission's authority to impose civil penalties, it also broadened to 
all sections of Part II of the Federal Power Act and the penalty amount 
is increased from $10,000 to $50,000 per violation per day.
  I continue to support FERC and Chairman Pat Wood in its efforts to 
stabilize energy prices, and ensure that our energy markets function 
properly although I believe that much more still needs to be done.
  But even if FERC has the will, the GAO report correctly points out 
that it may not have all the necessary tools. It is my hope that this 
legislation will help by providing FERC the necessary authority to 
continue to aggressively monitor energy markets and investigate 
wrongdoing.

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