Bob Filner: “I keep hearing about competition, laws of supply and demand. There is a manipulated market in California controlled by a…”

“I keep hearing about competition, laws of supply and demand. There is a manipulated market in California controlled by a cartel of energy wholesalers. Let me tell my colleagues what is happening in San Diego. We are paying 10 times, sometimes 100 times what we did a year ago. If we were paying the same costs for electricity as we are paying for bread, we would be paying $19.99 for a loaf of bread; in fact, up to $199 sometimes in the last year. What do they give us in this bill for California? They give us crumbs. All we get are some crumbs for California. Scores of small business people in my district have gone out of business, and according to a report by the Chamber of Commerce, 65 percent of small businesses in our county face bankruptcy this year, Mr. Chairman. If this bill passes without this amendment, my small businesses are toast. They are toast, Mr. Chairman. Help California. Pass this amendment.”