Henry Waxman: “Mr. Chairman, I strongly urge Members to oppose this amendment. The claim has been made that California's control over…”

“Mr. Chairman, I strongly urge Members to oppose this amendment. The claim has been made that California's control over its own intrastate pipeline has meant less capacity for the natural gas being brought to California through the interstate pipeline from Texas. Well, California has had capacity that has not been used. Southern California Gas alone has four approved capacity expansions under construction. The problem is not California having the ability to move that natural gas through the pipeline. The problem in the El Paso Natural Gas case has been the claim that El Paso Natural Gas, using the interstate pipeline, manipulated the capacity on that pipeline so they could drive up the prices for natural gas in California. If we pass this amendment, they will be able to take away our ability to control the pipeline in our own State, and then be able to use one interstate pipeline to do what they did already to us with that interstate pipeline manipulation. When El Paso Natural Gas lost its stranglehold over the natural gas prices without any change in the capacity within California, natural gas prices dropped. That shows that it was manipulation by El Paso Natural Gas that kept those prices up. This has nothing to do with California's control over its own pipeline. Mr. Chairman, I urge Members to oppose this amendment. There is no need for it. It could do a great deal of harm.”