Byron Dorgan: “Well, the bill that we passed in the Senate Commerce Committee that came to the Senate floor that I supported said this…”

“Well, the bill that we passed in the Senate Commerce Committee that came to the Senate floor that I supported said this, and said only this; it had no caveats, no exception, no exclusions. It said on page 6, ``Exclusion. The term `product' does not include electricity, water delivered by utility, natural gas or steam.'' The answer I am hearing from the Senator from Washington now is that you would have had to understood more than this language in order to understand the importance of it, because you are saying that this really meant except those 44 States, 18 of whom already had court cases on the issues of standard of strict liability on electric utilities. Those that adopt a standard of strict liability will find that utilities in their States have their products or their services defined as products in this bill. There is something wrong here. There is something that does not connect. I am trying to understand, because I have been a supporter, and I am trying to understand what does not connect here. What are we trying to avoid by including the exception? I come from a school of nine people in my graduating class, and we did not have the highest math there or advanced reading, but I understand what I read, and it says, ``the term 'product' does not include electricity, water delivered by utility, natural gas or steam.'' Period, end of story. I voted for that. I say I agree with that.”