[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12713]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                     SIGN DISCHARGE PETITION NO. 2

  (Mr. FILNER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, here we are, a year after the electricity 
crisis hit California and the West. The crisis and suffering continues. 
And where is the President? Not one item in his energy plan addresses 
the crisis in the West. And where is FERC, the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission? They seem more intent on protecting the industry 
than the consumers who pay their bills. And where is this Congress? A 
year after the crisis, we have not yet had a debate on this House floor 
on resolving the issues in California and the West.
  The bill that is coming up through the Committee on Commerce does 
nothing to address this crisis in California. The only way to get a 
fair discussion on the House floor is to sign Discharge Petition No. 2. 
That allows and puts in order any bill that really addresses the issues 
in the West and electricity.
  It is time to put cost-based rates on the price of electricity and 
refund the criminal overcharges since last year.
  Mr. Speaker, let us have a debate on this House floor. Sign Discharge 
Petition No. 2.

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