[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 22 (Monday, February 5, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H749-H750]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           WESTERN AREA POWER ADMINISTRATION TRANSPARENCY ACT

  Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 2371) to require the Administrator of the Western Area Power 
Administration to establish a pilot project to provide increased 
transparency for customers, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2371

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Western Area Power 
     Administration Transparency Act''.

     SEC. 2. WESTERN AREA POWER ADMINISTRATION PILOT PROJECT.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 120 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Western Area 
     Power Administration (referred to in this section as the 
     ``Administrator'') shall establish a pilot project, as part 
     of the continuous process improvement program and to provide 
     increased transparency for customers, to publish on a 
     publicly available website of the Western Area Power 
     Administration, a database of the following information, 
     beginning with fiscal year 2008, relating to the Western Area 
     Power Administration:
       (1) By power system and in a consistent format, rates 
     charged to customers for power and transmission service.
       (2) By power system, the amount of capacity or energy sold.
       (3) By region, a detailed accounting, at the functional 
     level and the budget activity level, of all expenditures, 
     capital costs, and staffing costs, including--
       (A) indirect costs, including overhead costs;
       (B) direct charges and direct allocations;
       (C) the number of contract staff;
       (D) costs related to independent consultants;
       (E) the number of full-time equivalents; and
       (F) charges to the region from the headquarters office of 
     the Western Area Power Administration for all annual and 
     capital costs.
       (4) For the headquarters office of the Western Area Power 
     Administration, a detailed

[[Page H750]]

     accounting at the functional level and the budget activity 
     level, of all expenditures and capital costs, including--
       (A) indirect costs, including overhead costs;
       (B) direct charges and direct allocations;
       (C) the number of contract staff;
       (D) costs related to independent consultants;
       (E) the number of full-time equivalents;
       (F) a summary of any expenditures described in this 
     paragraph, with the total amount paid by each region and 
     power system; and
       (G) expenses incurred on behalf of other Federal agencies 
     or programs or third parties for the administration of 
     programs not related to the marketing, transmission, or 
     wheeling of Federal hydropower resources, including--
       (i) indirect costs, including overhead costs;
       (ii) direct charges and allocations;
       (iii) the number of contract staff; and
       (iv) the number of full-time equivalents.
       (5) Capital expenditures, including--
       (A) capital investments delineated by the year in which 
     each investment is placed into service; and
       (B) the sources of capital for each investment.
       (b) Annual Summary.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the end of 
     each fiscal year in which the pilot project is being carried 
     out under this section, the Administrator shall make 
     available on a publicly available website--
       (A) updates to documents made available on the date of the 
     initial publication of the information on the website under 
     subsection (a);
       (B) an identification of the magnitude of annual changes in 
     the information published on the website under subsection 
     (a);
       (C) a description of the reasons for the changes identified 
     under subparagraph (B);
       (D) subject to paragraph (2), the total amount of the 
     unobligated balances retained by the Western Area Power 
     Administration at the end of the prior fiscal year within 
     each marketing area and headquarters by--
       (i) purpose or function;
       (ii) source of funding;
       (iii) anticipated program allotment; and
       (iv) underlying authority for each source of funding; and
       (E) the anticipated level of unobligated balances that the 
     Western Area Power Administration expects to retain at the 
     end of the fiscal year in which the annual summary is 
     published, as delineated by each of the categories described 
     in clauses (i) through (iv) of subparagraph (D).
       (2) Limitation.--Amounts in the Upper Colorado River Basin 
     Fund established by section 5(a) of the Act of April 11, 1956 
     (commonly known as the ``Colorado River Storage Project 
     Act'') (43 U.S.C. 620d(a)), shall not considered to be an 
     unobligated balance retained by the Western Area Power 
     Administration for purposes of paragraph (1)(D).
       (c) Termination.--The pilot project under this section 
     shall terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Gosar) and the gentlewoman from Hawaii (Ms. Hanabusa) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GOSAR. I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 
legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include 
extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arizona?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Today, we are considering my bill, H.R. 2371, the Western Area Power 
Administration Transparency Act. This bipartisan bill simply requires 
the Western Area Power Administration, known as WAPA, to establish a 
pilot project to allow for a more detailed understanding of how it uses 
both taxpayer and ratepayer dollars.
  This bill is the result of calls from some of WAPA's customers given 
rate increase trends and other financial discrepancies. H.R. 2371 
requires WAPA to develop a publicly available website that contains a 
detailed accounting of its rates, expenditures, staffing, and other 
operational and financial dealings. Since cost increases are ultimately 
borne by its customers, WAPA needs to be more transparent about its 
business practices. That is exactly what this bill seeks to achieve. 
H.R. 2371 will increase transparency and afford ratepayers with the 
necessary information to positively engage with WAPA about its 
operation and spending decisions. I urge adoption of the measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. HANABUSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2371, the Western Area Power Administration 
Transparency Act will help foster greater transparency and promote 
public confidence in the Western Area Power Administration, also called 
WAPA. WAPA is a critically important Federal agency that helps deliver 
power to nearly 40 million Americans across 15 States. This bill would 
establish a 7-year pilot project requiring WAPA to publish information 
online detailing the rates charged to customers for power and 
transmission service.
  The legislation would also require WAPA to publish a detailed 
accounting of all expenditures, capital costs, and staffing costs by 
region and at WAPA's headquarter office.
  Finally, the legislation directs WAPA to publish information on the 
amount of unobligated balances the agency retains each year.
  For these reasons, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the 
bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1630

  Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2371 will increase transparency and 
afford ratepayers with the necessary information to positively engage 
WAPA about its operations and spending decisions. Imagine that: getting 
back to what customers want.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the measure, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gosar) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 2371.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

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