Political Quotes

“I want to enter into a general discussion with my friend from Illinois relative to the substantive effect of his proposed Commission because while I certainly concur we are entitled to have this information, I am wondering why an inquiry by letter to the Department of Energy, the Federal Trade Commission, the GAO, or the Energy Information Agency would not suffice for the same purpose. The Senator from Illinois indicates the Commission shall conduct a nationwide study of significant price spikes since 1990 in major consumer energy products. I think we are all familiar with the situation in California relative to what happened when California chose not to pass on the full cost of energy to the retail customer. As a consequence, the price hikes associated with that activity were certainly evident when the wholesalers went out of business. I wonder if my friend could indicate if indeed there is not a little duplicity in the availability of this information. I do not have a problem with the amendment, but I do not want to build up a bureaucracy.”