[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12088]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                       PRICE CAPS ARE A BAD IDEA

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, even though they violate every principle of 
free market economics, every principle of common sense, even though 
they would not produce one drop of oil or one watt of electricity, some 
Members keep calling for price caps.
  Many of us have been trying to explain to the government-has-all-of-
the-answers crowd why price caps are a bad idea. But, Mr. Speaker, some 
Members would rather score political points by claiming to have an easy 
answer, even though they will really be harming the consumers they 
pretend to be defending.
  The Department of Energy released a study that showed that price 
controls would cause the California blackouts to get worse. There is no 
easy fix to this energy crunch, and we should not trust anyone who 
tells us there is. Only through boosting production and greater 
conservation will we have more supply and lower prices. There is no 
other way.

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