Rob Bishop: “Management of the forests and forest fires is an important and significant topic, but it is not the issue that we are…”

“Management of the forests and forest fires is an important and significant topic, but it is not the issue that we are having here today. Climate change is an important significant topic, but it is not the issue that we are talking about today. We are talking about how you transfer power from point A, where it is produced, to point B, where people live, and make sure that you can continue to have that power flowing there because it impacts the quality of life. This is about how we improve our lives. That is the key issue. The examples have been given out here before of examples of where that has been interrupted simply because we failed to maintain transmission lines. A good example is down in New Mexico, where, once again, an ash tree--pun intended--actually fell on a forest, on the line, creating a 150,000-acre fire; and then the company that actually owned the line and wanted to maintain it but was not allowed to by the Forest Service was given a $35 million bill. Unfortunately, the liability of that company was only $20 million, so you can understand the difficulty that company is in right now. That is the reality in which we are dealing, and we have to realize that this is a solution to that issue. It is about how we provide power to people. The only chance I had of meeting President Obama was when he came to Utah and visited Hill Air Force Base, and he was there to talk about solar power that is being used on Hill Air Force Base.…”