Byron Dorgan: “I should like to add my voice to the thoughts expressed today by the Senator from South Dakota and the Senator from…”

“I should like to add my voice to the thoughts expressed today by the Senator from South Dakota and the Senator from Montana and others on the matter of the sale of the Power Marketing Administrations, the PMA's. This does not mean much to a lot of people because we hear the use of acronyms and titles of organizations with which most people are not familiar. But the power marketing administrations, along with WAPA, which is the PMA that serves our region of the country, provide a very important mission and role for our region of the country and help provide, for a couple hundred thousand North Dakotans, reasonably low-cost power that has been a Federal promise to them for a long, long while. We produce power through hydroelectric facilities that were built in conjunction with the construction of dams and reservoirs. Those projects have many purposes, including flood control and a range of other critical needs. Part of the promise in the construction of those dams and the public works projects over time was the promise of being able to use the electricity from the hydropower generators and distribute it regionally at a reasonable cost. That has been of enormous benefit to rural consumers in my State, who, without this opportunity, would see their electric rates skyrocket. The President has proposed selling the PMA's. The leaders of the House have proposed selling the PMA's. It does not make any sense, in my judgment, to do that.”