STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
Sponsor:
Summary:
All articles in Senate section
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
(Senate - November 07, 1997)
Text of this article available as:
TXT
PDF
[Pages
S11964-S12022]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. HELMS (for himself, Mr. Glenn, Mr. DeWine, and Mr.
Faircloth):
S. 1397. A bill to establish a commission to assist in commemoration
of the centennial of powered flight and the achievements of the Wright
brothers; to the Committee on Governmental Affairs.
the centennial of flight commemorative act
Mr. HELMS. Madam President, I have a bill,
S. 1397, at the desk. Now,
Senators DeWine, Faircloth, Glenn, and I are introducing this
legislation, and we are naming it the Centennial of Flight
Commemorative Act. As I indicated, the bill number is
S. 1397.
This significant legislation will establish a commission to assist
the numerous events that will lead up to and include the celebration of
the 100th anniversary of powered flight, a feat in all the history
books, accomplished in my State of North Carolina by the geniuses, two
brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright, Ohio brothers who were born and
raised in Dayton where they operated a bicycle shop.
I don't know whether you have been to Kitty Hawk, particularly in the
middle of December, but it is not a comfortable place to be. Wilbur and
Orville came to the Outer Banks of North Carolina to conduct their
experiments. The first powered flight occurred at Kitty Hawk, NC, on
December 17, 1903. In fact, the Wright brothers engaged in four flights
that day, and with their effort they changed the concept of travel
forever.
About noon on that cold and windy December day, at Kitty Hawk, NC,
the aviation age, the air age, began.
So, Madam President, the Wright brothers were indisputably the first
pioneers of powered flight, and they became national heroes,
justifiably etched in history.
As for our bill,
S. 1397, the able Senator from Ohio, Mr. DeWine, and
the able Senator from Ohio, Mr. Glenn, did excellent work in drafting
this legislation.
Senator Glenn, I am obliged to mention, and I am glad to do so, is a
man of history himself in terms of powered flight. He was the first
American, as all of us know, to orbit the Earth. When he walks up and
down the corridors, I see mamas and daddies pointing to him saying,
``That's Senator Glenn.'' Senator Glenn and six other pioneers, the
Mercury astronauts, got America's space program off the ground.
Madam President,
S. 1397--let me say the title again so it will
register--the Centennial of Flight Commemorative Act--proposes the
establishment of a commission of 21 individuals to plan for and assist
in events leading up to and including the commemoration of the 100th
anniversary of the Wright brothers' flights at Kitty Hawk. The
commission will be composed of the Secretary of the Interior, the
Director of the National Air and Space Museum, the Secretary of
Defense, the Secretary of Transportation, the NASA Administrator, and
each of these officials can name a designee. Then there will be two
representatives each from the States of North Carolina and Ohio and 12
other private citizens.
Of these 12 private citizens, the President of the United States will
appoint two from a list recommended by the Senate majority leader in
consultation with the Senate minority leader, and two from a list
recommended by the Speaker of the House in consultation with the House
minority leader. The remaining eight will be chosen based on
qualifications and/or experience in the fields of history, aerospace,
science, industry, or other professions that will enhance the work of
the commission.
The commission will represent the United States and take a leadership
role with other nations in recognizing the achievement of the Wright
brothers and the importance of aviation history.
The commission's activities will be closely coordinated with the
First Flight Centennial Commission and the First Flight Centennial
Foundation of North Carolina and the 2003 Committee of the State of
Ohio. The commission is allowed to retain an executive director and
staff that may be required in order to carry out its functions.
S. 1397 authorizes appropriations of $250,000 for each of the fiscal
years 1998 to 2004 to fund the work of the commission.
Additionally, the commission may accept monetary contributions and
other in kind contributions, volunteer
[[Page
S11965]]
services and the like. In order to further defray the expenses of the
commission, the legislation gives it exclusive right to names, logos,
emblems, seals, and marks, which may be licensed on which proceeds from
royalties will be used to offset the operating costs of the commission.
S. 1397 requires that annual audits of the commission be conducted by
the Inspector General of the General Services Administration to ensure
its financial integrity.
The commission shall be terminated no later than 60 days after the
submission of the final audit report.
Senators may ask why establish a Federal commission to commemorate
this event? The Wright brothers' triumph at Kitty Hawk on that bone-
chilling day of December 17, 1903 has to rank as one of mankind's
greatest achievement. The world has not been the same since.
As the development of the airplane progressed so did its uses in
warfare and civilian aviation. Its development spawned generations of
aviation trailblazers. Names like Eddie Rickenbacker, Billy Mitchell,
Charles Lindbergh, Jimmy Doolittle, Chuck Yeager, and the Mercury,
Gemini, Apollo, and space shuttle astronauts became household words.
What is even more astonishing is that 66 years later, Neil Armstrong
of Ohio became the first man to set foot on the moon. That would not
have been possible without the Wright brothers.
Because of the Wright brothers you can get on a jet aircraft at
Dulles Airport and be in London in six or seven hours, far less if you
are flying the Concorde. You can fly from New York to Tokyo in 14
hours. On the Concorde, you can travel from New York to London in 3
hours and 50 minutes.
We are seeing daily developments in aviation, faster planes, new
space technologies, all because of the genius of Wilbur and Orville
Wright.
I hope the Senate will swiftly approve this legislation.
Mr. DeWINE. Madam President, I thank the Chair, and I thank my
distinguished colleague from North Carolina.
I am delighted to join him, as well as Senator Faircloth and Senator
Glenn, in introducing a bill to create the Centennial of Flight
Commission.
In the year 2003, the United States and, indeed, the world will
celebrate a truly breathtaking anniversary. That date will mark exactly
100 years of the adventure of human flight. For those of us who are
from the State of Ohio, it is an especially important anniversary as
Senator Helms has so ably described--first and foremost because the
Wright brothers, the very first pioneers of powered flight, were from
Dayton, OH. It was in Dayton, OH, that they grew up. It was in Dayton,
OH, that they had a print shop. It was in Dayton, OH, that they had the
bicycle shop that was referred to a moment ago by Senator Helms.
It was at Huffman Prairie, in Montgomery County, actually what is now
enclosed in Wright Patterson Air Force Base, technically in Greene
County, that the Wright brothers learned to fly. So, those of us from
Ohio are very proud of the Wright brothers, as this whole country is.
We are also proud in Ohio that ever since the time of the Wright
brothers, Ohio has continued to build a proud aviation history. From
the Wright brothers to World War I flying ace David Ingalls, to John
Glenn who just walked on to the floor of the Senate, the first man, the
first American to orbit the Earth, to Neil Armstrong, the first man to
walk on the Moon, to the incredible research being done right now at
NASA Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, OH, has continually been a
part of the great epic of aviation.
This is, indeed, cause for celebration, and that is what this bill is
all about. It would create a commission to coordinate the centennial of
flight celebration in the year 2003. The commission will be composed of
21 members: the Secretaries of the Interior, Transportation, and
Defense; the Director of the National Air and Space Museum; the
Administrator of NASA; two people from North Carolina; the president
and chairman of the First Flight Centennial Commission; and two people
from the State of Ohio, the Governor and the chairman of the 2003
Committee, and 12 additional Presidential appointees.
Madam President, this commission will help the United States take a
leadership role in planning international celebrations of the
centennial of flight, promoting participation and sponsorship by the
aerospace industry, the commercial aviation industry, educational
institutions, and State and local governments.
The commission is going to distribute a calendar, a register of
national and international programs and projects concerning the flight
centennial.
What I hope most of all is that these celebrations will recognize
that the history of flight is not just the story about machines or
about the triumph of technology. It is rather a story about people. It
is a story of how human creativity overcame one of the most fundamental
barriers that humans ever faced.
For hundreds of thousands of years, human beings could not fly, but
in this century, thanks to the freedom and spirit of creativity in this
country, the human race broke the bonds of Earth. So, from Dayton to
Kitty Hawk and beyond the limits of our solar system, this is a story
to truly celebrate.
Madam President, I see my distinguished senior Senator from the State
of Ohio, the honorable John Glenn, is on the floor. I yield to Senator
Glenn.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio is recognized.
Mr. GLENN. Thank you, Madam President. I thank my distinguished
colleague.
I rise as a cosponsor of this legislation to establish a national
Commission on the Centennial of Flight. We have been very proud through
the years to have worked with the people of Dayton, OH, in an effort to
recognize the very exceptional contribution of the two brothers who ran
the bicycle shop and dreamed of flight. They watched the birds and
dreamed of flight, not knowing whether it would ever be possible.
In 1992, it was my privilege to sponsor the legislation that
established the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park which
commemorates the extraordinary lives of Wilbur Wright, Orville Wright,
and Paul Lawrence Dunbar, a black man, a poet, one of the finest poets,
who was a close friend of the Wright brothers.
That park and the memorial in North Carolina recall that on December
17, 1903, Orville Wright flew 120 feet in 12 seconds. Can we imagine
that, 120 feet in 12 seconds? But it was under power. It was the
airplane that is over in the Smithsonian now. It was under powered
flight with an engine and propeller. It was the first sustained flight
in a power-driven, heavier-than-air machine.
There were three other flights that day. We don't often hear about
those. There were three other flights that day, and Wilbur Wright set a
new world record flying on one of those flights 352 feet in 59 seconds.
It was more than the length of a football field.
Very little attention was paid at that time. People were very
doubtful. Octave Chanute reported the achievement in Popular Science
Monthly in March 1904. But the first--I think this is very
interesting--the first eyewitness report about those flights appeared
in a publication called Gleanings in Bee Culture, and that was in
January 1905. That was the first real eyewitness report of Orville and
Wilbur Wright's flights.
The work had begun in 1899 with a serious study of everything the
Wrights could find on aeronautics. In 1900, to test their glider, they
selected Kitty Hawk on the word of the weather bureau because of the
steadiness of the winds and direction of the winds at that time. The
test glider in 1900 and 1901 failed to achieve the lifting power that
they thought they needed and anticipated.
They went back to Dayton and built a 6-foot wind tunnel to conduct
experiments with over 200 different wing models. They developed the
first reliable tables on the effects of air pressure on curved
surfaces, the principles that we use today and that you see on every
airplane, whether it is a general aviation small light airplane or a
giant 747 or whether it is the Concorde flying at supersonic speed
across the Atlantic Ocean.
They developed these 200 different wing models and experimented with
them. They developed the first reliable tables on the effects of air
pressure on curved surfaces.
[[Page
S11966]]
In 1902, they conducted over almost 1,000 tests with a more promising
glider. In 1903, the Wright brothers had completed the construction of
a larger plane powered by their own lightweight gas-powered engine.
Arriving in Kitty Hawk in September, storms and mechanical
difficulties delayed trials until December. On the 17th, four men and a
boy witnessed the very first flight, and a memorable photograph,
fortunately, was captured. Four men and a boy witnessed that first
flight.
Back home in Dayton in 1904 and 1905, the Wright brothers continued
testing their invention at Huffman Prairie, which is the area adjacent
to what is today Wright Patterson Air Force Base where they first
achieved maneuverable flight.
In 1908, Wilbur and Orville signed a contract with the War Department
for the first military airplane. In September, Orville circled the
parade ground at an altitude of 120 feet just across the Potomac River
from us today, over at Fort Meyer in Virginia.
When most people these days think of the Wright brothers, we tend to
think of them as having lived a long, long time ago. We tend to think
of the Wright brothers as being part of ancient history. We also think
of their airplane, the Wright Flyer III, as being an incredibly
primitive machine, at least by today's standards. And it was a
primitive machine. There were no fancy guidance systems or high-tech
controls.
By swiveling their hips from one side to the other, Orville and
Wilbur could steer the airplane. To this day, when young people come
in, when school groups come to Washington and visit my office and they
say they are going over to the Air and Space Museum, I always tell them
to get up on the gallery level and look down on the Wright brothers'
airplane and see how they controlled flight, because the person flying
lay on the lower wing and had a wooden yoke around his hips. That
wooden yoke slid back and forth and there was a wire that went to the
trailing edge of the upper wing, and they would slide in the direction
they wanted to go, slide their hips over, pull that wire and literally
warp the trailing edge of the wing down and made more lift on the wing
on that side and the airplane would turn in the direction their hips
were slid toward.
I am glad they developed later on in aviation a better means of
control. We can imagine a 747 pilot today making an approach swiveling
his hips back and forth. But that was the way the Wright brothers
controlled those very early flights.
The first flight at Kitty Hawk and Huffman Prairie seemed so far
removed from what we did later on, from my own experience in orbital
flight in 1962, or from the first lunar landing, or from living aboard
the orbiting space station for weeks on end, as Shannon Lucid did. She
was up there for 188 days. She will be honored at the Smithsonian this
evening, as a matter of fact. Yet, all this occurred within a lifetime.
I know we kid Senator Thurmond around here quite a lot about his age,
but Senator Thurmond was born December 5, 1902. The Wright brothers did
not fly until a year later, on December 7, 1903. So we have in this
body right now a man whose lifetime spans all of manned flight, powered
flight, from that first day at Kitty Hawk into space. Strom Thurmond
has witnessed the complete history of flight. And we marvel at just how
far we have come in an incredibly short period of time. We have
literally gone from the Wright brothers to the Moon and beyond in a
single lifetime.
That is amazing. In that sense, I think it is fair to say that
Orville and Wilbur Wright were our first astronauts, really, because
they were the first who really did rise off the Earth's surface in a
sustained way and make flight that then advanced to higher and higher
altitudes until we are above the Earth's atmosphere now with different
kinds of machines; though I think in some ways we could say that they
were the first two who, as the poem goes, ``slipped the surly bonds of
Earth''--slipped the surly bonds of Earth and ventured into the air
under the power of a motor.
Everything since then has just been going higher and going faster. I
also think it is fair to say the Wright brothers personified something
that is behind every single leap or advancement in science or human
knowledge since the beginning of time. The one characteristic they
had--we could lump it all together and say that is something that is in
the heart of all human progress--is curiosity and an innate curiosity
about how we can do things differently or whether we can explore and
find new shores or whether we can do experiments and do research in new
areas.
Whether you look at the voyage of Christopher Columbus, who brought
Europeans to the shore of North America, whether you look at the
experiments of Alexander Fleming--you know what Alexander Fleming was
curious about? It was plain old green mold on bread. He did not know
why the patterns formed around the mold the way they did. The green
mold, it was a particular pattern. He was curious about that.
You know what that led to? His curiosity led to the discovery of
penicillin and the development of modern antibiotics. That curiosity
about green mold on bread has led to increased life expectancy of
people all around this Earth. We have gone up in life expectancy more
in the last 100 years than in the previous 2,000 years, I read in a
magazine just a short time ago. So the discovery of penicillin and
Alexander Fleming's curiosity about green bread mold that led to that,
has really revolutionized this Earth.
Or we go ahead with the unexpected circumstance in a small electronic
switching device that led to the development of the first transistor
and ultimately to today's incredibly sophisticated computer systems.
It is clear to me that curiosity isn't what killed the cat. It is
also the goose that laid the golden egg for all of humankind. That is
going to be true in the future as well as the past. In field after
field, in discipline after discipline, in industry after industry, it
is curiosity, that insatiable, relentlessly questioning spirit that
keeps asking ``why'' that has moved our species ahead.
The irony, of course, is any time someone or a group such as the
Wright brothers, or a group of people undertake an exploration or
undertake to demonstrate a new idea, whether in a laboratory, a
spaceship, a bicycle shop or on a production line, there are many who
question the wisdom of it all. Those naysayers who wanted to know when
their bike would be fixed with the Wright brothers believed that if we
were to fly God would have given us feathers, they said.
So there was a joke about the Wright brothers at that time. ``If God
wanted us to fly, why don't we have feathers?" Well, they fortunately
laughed along with everybody else, but at the same time went ahead with
their work. They were not deterred. But if there is one thing we know
for sure about research or any kind of exploration of the unknown, it
is that it is impossible to know what we will see at the end or what it
may lead to.
I believe that today, as perhaps never before, we cannot afford to
lose that kind of curiosity and questing spirit that the Wright
brothers had. With it, we can continue to learn new things, first, for
this Nation, putting them to practical application, staying ahead of
global competition. That has been the story of this country's
advancement. Without it, we will quickly become yesterday's leader,
yesterday's leader, not tomorrow's leader but yesterday's leader,
hopelessly trying to hold back the hands of the clock and to hold on to
a past glory that can never be just retained or recaptured.
So the spirit of the Wright brothers is needed as much today as
before their very first flight. That is why today I am pleased to join
with my colleagues--my colleague from Ohio, my colleagues from North
Carolina--in introducing this legislation to establish a national
commission to assist in the commemoration of the centennial of powered
flight that will occur in 2003 and the achievements of the Wright
brothers. Those who worked to build our national parks and memorials to
the Wright brothers in Ohio and North Carolina where flight was born
and first achieved will now work together to recall and remember the
spirit of flight to be commemorated as we approach the centennial of
flight in 2003.
The spirit represented by the Wright brothers was captured in their
own day by their good friend, Paul Lawrence
[[Page
S11967]]
Dunbar, who captured in the prophetic verse which he penned the
triumphs that are remembered at the Dayton Aviation Heritage National
Historical Park. One of his notations was:
What dreams we have
and how they fly
like rosy clouds
across the sky;
of wealth, of fame
of sure success . . .
That is certainly what curiosity has brought us and what the Wright
brothers brought us.
Think of all that has occurred since that first flight at Kitty Hawk
in 1903. Think of aviation today and all it entails and the giant
industry. It has revised all the world's transportation, has revised
our military, our security. All of that stemmed from that first flight
in 1903.
So we are happy to put in this legislation today. We hope that it is
supported by all here, not just those from Ohio and North Carolina,
because what started there in 1903 is something that affects everyone.
It affects every State and every nation around the globe, even these
days. And we look forward to this commission doing a great job in
assisting in the commemoration of the centennial of powered flight and
the achievements of the Wright brothers.
Mr. FAIRCLOTH. Mr. President, today I am pleased to be an original
cosponsor of legislation being introduced by Senator Helms--the two
Senators from Ohio--that would establish a National Commission to
oversee the 100th anniversary of the first flight.
Mr. President, on a cold, windy December morning in 1903, in the
Outer Banks of North Carolina, the Wright brothers changed the history
of the world. Orville Wright flew for just 12 seconds--but it was the
first manned flight.
Today, many people take for granted what was accomplished by the
Wright brothers that day, but at the time it was a historic
achievement. Man had been thinking of flight for thousand of years--and
yet the Wright brothers, here in the United States, were the first to
do it.
The development of flight grew rapidly. A little over a decade later,
airplanes were used in the battles of World War I. Two decades after
the 12-second first flight--Charles Lindbergh flew over the Atlantic.
And of course, in 1962, in just a half century after the first 12-
second flight, our distinguished colleague John Glenn was the first man
to fly around the world in space. Seven years after that, we landed a
man on the Moon.
It is hard to believe that all of this has taken place in the span of
less than 100 years.
This is why the centennial anniversary of first flight is so
significant to us, the sponsors of this legislation.
The Commission will coordinate the plans for the celebration. The
Wright brothers were from Ohio, of course, where they ran a bicycle
shop. The State of North Carolina's license plates bear the slogan
``First in Flight''--so we are especially proud of this achievement in
my State. To these two States, the celebration is important.
But much more than that, I think the anniversary should be used to
inspire students to learn more about the history of flight. Hopefully,
it will remind people that this is a great nation inventors--and that
American ingenuity has made us the greatest country in the history of
the world. Finally, it should remind our citizens that America is a
land of opportunity and freedom--where anyone's imagination can change
the world. This is an entrepreneurial spirit that we must keep alive.
I want to thank Senator Helms and Senators Glenn and DeWine for
joining together today to introduce this legislation. I hope that the
Senate will take it up soon.
______
By Mr. THOMAS (for himself, Mr. Kerrey, Mr. Enzi, and Mr. Hagel):
S. 1398. A bill to extend certain contracts between the Bureau of
Reclamation and irrigation water contractors in Wyoming and Nebraska
that receive water from Glendo Reservoir; to the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources.
THE IRRIGATION PROJECT CONTRACT EXTENSION ACT OF 1997
Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Irrigation
Project Contract Extension Act of 1997. I am pleased to be joined in
this endeavor by Senators Enzi, Kerrey, and Hagel.
This legislation would extend, for a period of 3 years, certain water
contracts between the Bureau of Reclamation and irrigators in Wyoming
and Nebraska that receive water from Glendo Reservoir. All contracts
are subject to renewal on December 31, 1998. Extending these contracts
is considered a major Federal action and, therefore, subject to review
of the National Environmental Policy Act [NEPA] and the Endangered
Species Act [ESA]. Without a short-term continuation agreement, the
irrigators would be responsible for the costs of the analysis and other
environmental documentation.
Currently, the States of Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado--and the
Department of the Interior--are in the process of implementing a
comprehensive ``Cooperative Agreement for Platte River Research and
Other Efforts relating to Endangered Species Habitats along the Central
Platte River, Nebraska.'' The term of this initiative is for 3 years,
with an allowable 6-month extension. Upon completion of the cooperative
agreement, efforts to enact the Platte River Recovery Implementation
Program can begin. This basin wide, three-State plan will help to
recover the endangered whooping crane, piping plover, and least stern,
and improve critical habitats in the Central Platte River Basin.
I believe it is important for Congress to act on this measure and
extend these contracts for 3 years, or until the cooperative agreement
is completed. In that time, the needed NEPA and ESA reviews will be
fulfilled--clearing the way for the program to be initiated. It is
important to remember that the program cannot be implemented until the
environmental studies are completed and the parties have agreed to the
results.
Mr. President, this bill does not avoid environmental evaluation. It
merely provides some relief to the water users, while allowing the NEPA
and ESA documentation to take place through the cooperative agreement
process. It is my understanding that once this agreement has expired,
and if the Department of the Interior and the three States decide not
to pursue the program, the contract renewal process would proceed as a
separate Federal action at that time.
This is good and fair legislation. It will benefit the environment
and the water users. I look forward to working with my colleagues in
the Senate and House to secure its passage.
______
By Mr. BOND:
S. 1399. A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Army to carry out a
project to protect and enhance fish and wildlife habitat of the
Missouri River and the middle Mississippi River; to the Committee on
Environment and Public Works.
THE FISH AND WILDLIFE HABITAT ACT OF 1997
Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce legislation to
enhance, preserve and protect habitat for fish and wildlife on the
Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. This new 5-year $50 million
authorization is a win-win approach that will implement and expand the
use of new and innovative measures developed by the Corps of Engineers
to improve habitat conservation without impacting adversely private
property and other water-related needs of the rivers including
navigation, flood control and water supply.
As I have always maintained, fish and wildlife conservation and
commercial activity are not mutually exclusive. Indeed, we cannot
afford to abandon either river commerce or the species that live in and
on the river. This new approach is a win for man, for nature and for
the river.
This legislation is supported by Missouri Farm Bureau, MARC2000,
American Rivers, the Missouri Soybean Association, the Missouri
Corngrowers Association, and Farmland Industries. While these groups
have not always agreed on river policy, that should not preclude us
from seeking common ground and working together to address the
questions of resource management and I am delighted that we can all
come together in support of this commonsense approach.
Without specific authorization and only scarce dollars, the St. Louis
Corps of Engineers has been developing and
[[Page
S11968]]
testing ways in which navigation structures used to guide the river and
maintain the channel may be modified to meet environmental as well as
navigation goals. These innovations have proven successful earning wide
acclaim including a Presidential Design Award and Federal Design
Achievement Award.
This legislation seeks to put these successful innovations to work on
the Missouri River and expand their use on the middle Mississippi by
providing a specific authorization and a dedicated and substantial
source of funds. In other words, we are giving the corps the tools they
need to put their ideas to work to improve the rivers to benefit fish
and wildlife.
The legislation authorizes $10 million per year to protect, create
and enhance side channels, island habitat, sand bars, and other
riverine habitat. For example, by notching rock dikes that run
perpendicular to the shoreline, sandbars develop between the dikes
which has been provided nesting habitat for the endangered least tern
and valuable spawning ground for the endangered pallid sturgeon. The
Missouri Department of Conservation has run tests validating an
increase in diversity and numbers of microinvertebrates surrounding the
notched dikes.
Chevron dikes have been developed to improve river habitat and to
create beneficial uses of dredge material. These structures are placed
in the shallow side of the river channel pointing upstream which
improves the river channel while serving as small islands. These
islands encourage the development of all four primary river ecosystem
habitats and additionally, various micro-organisms cling to the
underwater rock structures, providing a food source for fish.
Changing the gradation of rock revetments, used to stabilize eroding
riverbanks, has proved to provide greater bank stability and precluded
the need to remove bank vegetation so that, for the first time, trees
and rock revetment could coexist providing greater habitat diversity.
The draft legislation authorizes $10 million per year over 5 years to
develop and implement a plan including the following activities:
Modification and improvement of navigation training structures to
protect and enhance fish and wildlife habitat; creation of side
channels to protect and enhance fish and wildlife habitat; restoration
and creation of island fish and wildlife habitat; creation of riverine
fish and wildlife habitat; establishment of criteria to prioritize
based on cost-effectiveness and likelihood of success; and physical and
biological monitoring for evaluating the success of the project.
The draft provides that the project be coordinated with other related
Federal and State activities and that there be public participation in
the development and implementation of the project. It requires a 25-
percent non-Federal cost share and limits the Federal cost of any
single project to $5 million. Finally, the draft legislation confers no
new regulatory authority and requires compliance with the National
Environmental Policy Act.
The legislation is designed to work between the banks of the river
and forbids expressly any adverse impacts on private lands and water-
related activities including flood control, navigation, and water
supply. Additionally, it is designed to compliment other existing
programs such as the Missouri River Mitigation project and the
Environmental Management Program on the Mississippi River.
I intend to work with the administration and with other Senators and
interested groups to build the broad support necessary to enact this
legislation in an omnibus Water Resources Development Act the Senate is
expected to consider in 1998.
Mr. President, the problems experienced in the Midwest and elsewhere
with railroad bottlenecks highlight the need for diverse transportation
options. As the fall harvest proceeds, there are reports of grain being
piled on the ground in neighboring Kansas and Nebraska. Notwithstanding
that I must continue working on behalf of Missouri to preserve river
navigation as a transportation option, our joint efforts to pursue this
new legislation is a strong indicator that we may be experiencing an
episode of domestic detente on river policy between groups that have
pursued differing approaches in the past. This legislation offers a
significant boost for our need to make the various river uses
compatible and an important step toward unifying the river's
stakeholders behind a realistic approach for the future.
I thank and congratulate the various groups who have come together
behind this legislation and look forward to enacting this consensus
legislation.
______
By Mr. BUMPERS (for himself and Mr. Gorton):
S. 1401. A bill to provide for the transition to competition around
electric energy suppliers for the benefit and protection of consumers,
and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources.
the transition to electric competition act of 1997
Mr. BUMPERS. Mr. President, I rise to day to introduce the Transition
to Electric Competition Act of 1997 along with my colleague from the
State of Washington, Senator Gorton. This bill provides for the
transition toward deregulation and competition in the electric utility
industry.
While few people find a discussion of the electric utility industry
and the many laws and regulations governing the industry exciting, the
fact is that electricity is an extremely important commodity which
affects everyone on a daily basis. Any event that increases or reduces
electric rates can impact: First, the lives of the poor and those on
fixed incomes that depend on electricity to heat their homes in the
winter and cool them in the summer; second, the price of goods we buy
every day; as well as third, the competitiveness of our factories. In
addition, decisions made by electric generators often have a direct
effect on our environment as well as our energy security.
It is not at all inconsequential that the electric utility industry,
which has remained relatively static for the last 60 years, is
undergoing a fundamental change. Instead of the traditional vertically
integrated local utility, which generates power at its own plants,
transmits that power over its own lines and sells that power to all
consumers in a particular area, consumers in some States are starting
to be bombarded with all sorts of offers from companies competing to
become their power supplier, and other entrepreneurs will be seeking to
buy large blocks of power to serve certain kinds of consumers.
Naturally, these changes are bound to create considerable apprehension
among both utilities and consumers.
Mr. President, in January I introduced
S. 237, the Electric Consumers
Protection Act, because I believed that retail electric competition was
inevitable and Federal legislation was necessary to ensure that certain
consumers were not disadvantaged in the process. Several States were
proceeding to introduce competition in their jurisdictions and a number
of others were examining the matter. Since that time I have become even
more convinced that competition is on the horizon. Eleven States have
now enacted legislation or issued regulations requiring retail
competition by a time certain. Almost every other State currently has
the matter under review.
Some argue that there is no need for the Federal Government to
intervene; that the States are doing just fine on their own and they
should decide when and how to proceed with retail electric competition.
Mr. President, I couldn't disagree more.
A State-by-State approach will likely produce a lot of unintended
consequences which will limit the benefits associated with retail
competition and could disadvantage certain consumers. Electric
generation markets are becoming increasingly regional and even multi-
regional. What happens in one State can have direct and indirect
impacts on consumers and utilities located in another State. Utilities
operating in more than one State can be subjected to conflicting
regulatory regimes which could impact the way they operate their
systems and the electric rates paid by consumers.
This phenomenon is best illustrated by the multistate utility holding
companies registered under the Public Utility Holding Company [PUHCA].
I have had a lot of experience with registered holding companies
because two of them serve my home State of Arkansas. These holding
companies generally plan for and operate generating facilities on a
system-wide basis for the benefit of customers in the entire region
[[Page
S11969]]
served by the company. If restructuring proceeds on a State-by-State
basis, these holding companies would find themselves subjected to
different requirements which could negatively impact consumers.
A State-by-State approach to retail competition also present problems
where utilities operate entirely within a single State. It would make
no sense for a utility in a State that does not require retail
competition, to be able to sell power at retail in an adjoining State
that requires retail competition, while a utility subjected to retail
competition is unable to mitigate its losses by competing for customers
in the adjoining State. Such a result both increases stranded costs and
distorts the generation marketplace.
Moreover, the States can't adequately address issues associated with
the use of transmission lines that provide for the transportation
across a number of States or the ability of a utility with significant
market power to dominate electricity generation in an entire region.
Clearly these are issues that need to be resolved at the Federal level.
When I introduced
S. 237 there weren't many calling for Federal
action. However, interested observers are increasingly coming to the
conclusion that Federal electric restructuring legislation is not only
helpful, but is necessary. Even some of the States are calling on the
Federal Government to act.
The legislation we are introducing today is an updated version of S.
237. The bill includes the following provisions: All consumers would
have the right to choose their power supplier by January 1, 2002.
States could choose an earlier date for their residents if they wish.
Utilities would be able to recover their legitimate, prudent and
verifiable costs that they would have been able to recover from
ratepayers if retail competition had not been implemented. Consumers
located in States that currently have low cost electricity would be
protected from rate increases by ensuring that utilities can't use
their existing assets to sell power in more lucrative markets to the
disadvantage of their existing customers. All utilities selling retail
power would be required to generate a portion of that power using
renewable resources. All of the interstate transmission facilities
throughout the country would be managed by independent system operators
to ensure that electricity flows in an efficient manner and that
markets are competitive. FERC would be given greater authority to
protect against the use of market power by utilities to inhibit
competition. Both the Public Utility Holding Company Act [PUHCA] and
the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act [PURPA] would be repealed in
conjunction with the implementation of retail electric competition.
In addition, Mr. President, the legislation attempts to address some
of the issues that relate to the impact of retail electric competition
on two Federal entities--the Bonneville Power Administration [BPA] and
the Tennessee Valley Authority [TVA]. Senator Gorton is especially
knowledgeable about the special problems facing BPA and I expect that
he will work closely with the other Members of the Senate from the
Pacific Northwest in developing a consensus approach.
With regard to TVA, our bill attempts to develop an approach that
will enable retail competition to be smoothly introduced in the
Tennessee Valley and will help TVA pay off its tremendous debt. The
bill also requires the TVA board to prepare a study examining whether
TVA should be privatized. I know that some observers may be concerned
that this could be a first step toward the privatization of the Federal
Power Marketing Administration [PMA's]. Mr. President, there is no
connection whatsoever between TVA and the PMA's. The PMA's market power
generated at hydroelectric facilities located at Federal dams. These
dams perform a variety of public services and cannot be privatized.
TVA, on the other hand, generates the bulk of its power from coal and
nuclear plants that serve no public purposes. In addition, the Federal
PMA's pay for themselves through power sales. TVA, on the other hand,
has an enormous level of privately held debt which it must find a way
to pay off, since the Federal Government is not responsible for it.
Mr. President, I am especially pleased that Senator Gorton has
decided to join with me in the effort to enact comprehensive electric
restructuring legislation. He has a reputation as a very bright and
thoughtful Member of this body and is a distinguished member of the
Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which has jurisdiction over the
matter. I know that he shares my desire to move this legislation
through Congress quickly next year.
Senator Murkowski, the chairman of the Senate Energy Committee,
recently indicated that he expects the committee to mark up electric
restructuring legislation next year. Both Senator Gorton and I want to
work with him and the other members of the committee in moving forward.
I look forward to undertaking this important task.
Mr. President, I want to say how honored I am to have one of our most
distinguished Senators, Senator Gorton of Washington, as my chief
cosponsor on this bill.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be
printed in the Record.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a section-by-section
analysis of the Transition to Electric Competition Act of 1997 be
printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
S. 1401
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short title. This Act may be cited as the ``Transition
to Electric Competition Act of 1997''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Severability.
Sec. 5. Enforcement.
TITLE I--RETAIL COMPETITION
Sec. 101. Mandatory retail access.
Sec. 102. Aggregation.
Sec. 103. Prior implementation.
Sec. 104. State regulation.
Sec. 105. Retail stranded cost recovery.
Sec. 106. Wholesale stranded cost recovery.
Sec. 107. Lost retail benefits.
Sec. 108. Universal service.
Sec. 109. Public benefits.
Sec. 110. Renewable energy.
Sec. 111. Determination of local distribution facilities.
Sec. 112. Transmission.
Sec. 113. Competitive generation markets.
Sec. 114. Nuclear decommissioning costs.
Sec. 115. Right to know.
Sec. 116. Exemption of Alaska and Hawaii.
TITLE II--PUBLIC UTILITY HOLDING COMPANIES
Sec. 201. Repeal of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935.
Sec. 202. Exemptions.
Sec. 203. Federal access to books and records.
Sec. 204. State access to books and records.
Sec. 205. Affiliate transactions.
Sec. 206. Clarification of regulatory authority.
Sec. 207. Effect on other regulation.
Sec. 208. Enforcement.
Sec. 209. Savings provision.
Sec. 210. Implementation.
Sec. 211. Resources.
TITLE III--PUBLIC UTILITY REGULATORY POLICIES ACT
Sec. 301. Definition.
Sec. 302. Facilities.
Sec. 303. Contracts.
Sec. 304. Savings clause.
Sec. 305. Effective date.
TITLE IV--ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Sec. 401. Study.
TITLE V--BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION
Sec. 501. Findings and purposes.
Sec. 502. Columbia River fish and wildlife coordination and governance.
Sec. 503. Pacific Northwest federal transmission access.
Sec. 504. Transition cost mechanism.
Sec. 505. Independent system operator participation.
Sec. 506. Financial obligations.
Sec. 507. Prohibition on retail sales.
Sec. 508. Clarification of Commission authority.
Sec. 509. Repealed statute.
TITLE VI--TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY
Sec. 601. Competition in service territory.
Sec. 602. Ability to sell electric energy.
Sec. 603. Termination of contracts.
Sec. 604. Rates for electric energy.
Sec. 605. Privatization study.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that:
(a) Congress has the authority to enact laws, under the
Commerce Clause of the
[[Page
S11970]]
United States Constitution, regarding the wholesale and
retail generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of
electric energy in interstate commerce.
(b) Several States have taken steps to require competition
among retail electric supplies and a large number of other
States are expected to act.
(c) It has been the policy of Congress and the Commission
to promote competition among wholesale electric suppliers.
(d) It is in the public interest that the transition
towards competition in electric service ensures that all
consumers receive reliable and competitively-priced electric
service.
(e) Electric utility companies that prudently incurred
costs pursuant to a regulatory structure that required them
to provide electricity to consumers should not be penalized
during the transition to competition.
(f) Consumers will not benefit from the introduction of
competition among electric energy suppliers if certain
suppliers have undue market power.
(g) It is important to encourage conservation and the use
of renewable resources to reduce reliance on fossil fuels,
promote domestic energy security and protect the environment.
(h) Competition among electric energy suppliers should not
degrade reliability nor cause consumers to lose electric
service.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(a) The term ``affiliate'' of a specific company means any
company 5 percent or more of whose outstanding voting
securities are owned, controlled, or held with power to vote,
directly or indirectly, by such specific company.
(b) The term ``aggregator'' means any person that purchases
or acquires retail electric energy on behalf of two or more
consumers.
(c) The term ``ancillary services'' shall have the same
meaning assigned to it by the Commission.
(d) The term ``associate company'' of a company means any
company in the same holding company system with such company.
(e) The term ``Commission'' means the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission.
(f) The term ``company'' means a corporation, joint stock
company, partnership, association, business trust, organized
group of persons, whether incorporated or not, or a receiver
or receivers, trustee or trustees of any of the foregoing.
(g) The term ``corporation'' means any corporation, joint-
stock company, partnership, association, rural electric
cooperative, municipal utility, business trust, organized
group of persons, whether incorporated or not, or a receiver
or receivers, trustee or trustees of any of the foregoing.
(h) The term ``electric utility company'' means any company
that owns or operates facilities used for the generation,
transmission or distribution of electric energy for sale.
(i) The term ``gas utility company'' means any company that
owns or operates facilities used for distribution at retail
(other than the distribution only in enclosed portable
containers) of natural or manufactured gas for heat, light or
power.
(j) The term ``holding company system'' means a holding
company together with its subsidiary companies.
(k) The term ``large hydroelectric facility'' means a
facility which has a power production capacity which,
together with any other facilities located at the same site,
is greater than 80 megawatts.
(l) The term ``local distribution facilities'' means
facilities used to provide retail electric energy for
ultimate consumption.
(m) The term ``lost retail benefits'' means the increased
cost of retail electric energy in a retail electric energy
provider's service territory resulting from the sale
subsequent to the implementation of retail electric
competition, outside such service territory, of electric
energy generated at facilities the cost of which were
included in the retail rate base of the retail electric
energy provider prior to the implementation of retail
electric competition.
(n) The term ``mitigation'' means any widely accepted
business practice used by an electric utility company to
dispose of or reduce uneconomic assets or costs.
(o) The term ``municipal utility'' means a city, county,
irrigation district, drainage district, or other political
subdivision or agency of a State competent under the laws
thereof to carry on the business of a retail electric energy
provider and/or a retail electric energy supplier.
(p) The term ``person'' means an individual or corporation.
(q) The term ``public utility company'' means an electric
utility company or gas utility company but does not mean a
qualifying facility as defined in the Public Utility
Regulatory Policies Act, or an exempt wholesale generator or
a foreign utility company defined in the Energy Policy Act of
1992.
(r) The term ``public utility holding company'' means (A)
any company that directly or indirectly owns, controls, or
holds with power to vote, 10 percent or more of the
outstanding voting securities of a public utility company or
of a holding company of any public utility company; and (B)
any person, determined by the Securities and Exchange
Commission, after notice and opportunity for hearing, to
exercise directly or indirectly (either alone or pursuant to
an arrangement or understanding with one or more persons)
such a controlling influence over the management or policies
of any public utility or holding company as to make it
necessary or appropriate for the protection of consumers with
respect to rates that such person be subject to the
obligations, duties, and liabilities imposed in this title
upon holding companies.
(s) The term ``renewable energy'' means electricity
generated from solar, wind, waste, including municipal solid
waste, biomass, hydroelectric or geothermal resources.
(t) The term ``Renewable Energy Credit'' means a tradable
certificate of proof that one unit (as determined by the
Commission) of renewable energy was generated by any person.
(u) The term ``retail electric competition'' means the
ability of each consumer in a particular State to purchase
retail electric energy from any person seeking to sell
electric energy to such consumer.
(v) The term ``retail electric energy'' means electric
energy and ancillary services sold for ultimate consumption.
(w) The term ``retail electric energy provider'' means any
person who distributes retail electric energy to consumers
regardless of whether the consumers purchase such energy from
the provider or an alternative supplier. A retail electric
energy provider may also be a retail electric energy
supplier.
(x) The term ``retail electric energy supplier'' means any
person which sells retail electric energy to consumers.
(y) The term ``retail stranded costs'' means all
legitimate, prudent, verifiable and non-mitigatable costs
incurred by an electric utility company in all of its
generation assets which would have been recoverable in retail
rates but for the implementation of retail electric
competition, less the total market value of these assets
after retail electric competition is implemented. Binding
power purchase contracts and regulatory assets, the costs of
which would have been recovered but for the implementation of
retail electric competition, shall be considered generation
assets for purposes of this subsection.
(z) The term ``rural electric cooperative'' means a
corporation that is currently paying off a loan for the
purposes of providing electric service from the Administrator
of the Rural Electrification Administration or the Rural
Utilities Service under the Rural Electrification Act of
1936.
(aa) The term ``State'' means any State or the District of
Columbia.
(bb) The term ``State regulatory authority'' means the
regulatory body of a State or municipality having sole
jurisdiction to regulate rates and charges for the
distribution of electric energy to consumers within the State
or municipality.
(cc) The term ``subsidiary company'' of a holding company
means--
(1) any company 10 percent or more of the outstanding
voting securities of which are directly or indirectly owned,
controlled, or held with power to vote, by such holding
company; and
(2) any person the management or policies of which the
Securities and Exchange Commission, after notice and
opportunity for hearing, determines to be subject to a
controlling influence, directly or indirectly, by such
holding company (either alone or pursuant to an arrangement
or understanding with one or more other persons) so as to
make it necessary for the protection of consumers that such
person be subject to the obligations, duties, and liabilities
imposed upon subsidiary companies of public utility holding
companies.
(dd) The term ``transmission system'' means all facilities,
including federally-owned facilities, transmitting
electricity in interstate commerce in a particular region,
including all facilities transmitting electricity in the
State of Texas and those providing international
interconnections, but does not include local distribution
facilities as determined by the Commission.
(ee) The term ``wholesale electric energy'' means electric
energy and ancillary services sold for resale.
(ff) The term ``wholesale electric energy supplier'' means
any person which sells wholesale electric energy.
(gg) The term ``wholesale stranded costs'' shall have the
same meaning as in the Commission's Order No. 888.
(hh) The term ``voting security'' means any security
presently entitling the owner or holder thereof to vote in
the direction or management of the affairs of a company.
SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act, or the application of such
provision to any person or circumstance, shall be held
invalid, the remainder of the Act, and the application of
such provision to persons or circumstances other than those
as to which it is held invalid, shall not be affected
thereby.
SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Violation of the Act.--If any individual or corporation
or any other retail electric energy supplier or provider
fails to comply with the requirements of this Act, any
aggrieved person may bring an action against such entity to
enforce the requirements of this Act in the appropriate
Federal district court.
(b) State or Commission Action.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, any person seeking redress from an action
taken by a State regulatory authority, the Commission or a
regulatory board pursuant to this Act shall bring such action
in the appropriate circuit of the United States Court of
Appeals.
[[Page
S11971]]
TITLE I--ELECTRIC COMPETITION
SEC. 101. MANDATORY RETAIL ACCESS.
(a) Customer Choice.--Beginning on January 1, 2002, each
consumer shall have the right to purchase retail electric
energy from any person offering to sell retail electric
energy to such consumer, subject to any limitations imposed
pursuant to section 104(a) of this Act.
(b) Local Distribution and Retail Transmission
Facilities.--Beginning on January 1, 2002, all persons
seeking to sell retail electric energy shall have reasonable
and nondiscriminatory access, on an unbundled basis, to the
local distribution and retail transmission facilities of all
retail electric energy providers and all ancillary
services.
SEC. 102. AGGREGATION.
Subject to any limitations imposed pursuant to section
104(a) of this Act, a group of consumers or any person acting
on behalf of such group may purchase or acquire retail
electric energy for the members of the group if they are
located in a State or States where there is retail electric
competition.
SEC. 103. PRIOR IMPLEMENTATION.
(a) State Action.--Nothing in the Federal Power Act (16
U.S.C. 824 et seq.) shall be deemed to prohibit a State or
State regulatory authority, if authorized under State law,
from requiring retail electric energy providers selling
retail electric energy to consumers in such State to provide
reasonable and nondiscriminatory access, on an unbundled
basis, to its local distribution facilities and all ancillary
services to any retail electric energy supplier prior to
January 1, 2002.
(b) Grandfather.--Legislation enacted by a State or a
regulation issued by a State regulatory authority which has
the effect of providing all consumers in such State the
opportunity to purchase retail electric energy from any
retail electric energy supplier by January 1, 2002 and
provides electric utility companies with the opportunity to
recover their retail stranded costs as defined by this Act
(unless there is an agreement between a State or State
regulatory authority and a retail electric energy provider
which provides for a different level of recovery), shall be
deemed to be in compliance with the requirements of sections
101 and 105 of this Act.
(c) Reciprocity.--A State or State regulatory authority
that provides for retail electric competition may preclude
any retail electric energy provider selling retail electric
energy to consumers in another State and their affiliates
from selling retail electric energy to consumers in the State
with retail electric competition if the retail electric
energy provider does not provide reasonable and
nondiscriminatory access, on an unbundled basis, to its local
distribution facilities to any retail electric energy
supplier.
SEC. 104. STATE REGULATION.
(a) State Requirements.--A State or a State regulatory
authority may impose requirements on persons seeking to sell
retail electric energy to consumers in that State which are
intended to promote the public interest, including
requirements related to generation reliability and the
provision of information to consumers and other retail
electric energy suppliers. Any such requirements must be
applied on a nondiscriminatory basis and may not be used to
exclude any class of potential suppliers, such as retail
electric energy providers, from the opportunity to sell
retail electric energy.
(b) Maintenance of State Authority.--Nothing in this Act is
intended to prohibit a State from enacting laws or imposing
regulations related to retail electric energy service that
are consistent with the requirements of this Act.
(c) Continued State Authority Over Distribution.--A State
or State regulatory authority may continue to regulate local
distribution service currently subject to State regulation,
including billing and metering in any manner consistent with
this Act.
SEC. 105. RETAIL STRANDED COST RECOVERY.
(a) Application for Deter
Major Actions:
All articles in Senate section
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
(Senate - November 07, 1997)
Text of this article available as:
TXT
PDF
[Pages
S11964-S12022]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. HELMS (for himself, Mr. Glenn, Mr. DeWine, and Mr.
Faircloth):
S. 1397. A bill to establish a commission to assist in commemoration
of the centennial of powered flight and the achievements of the Wright
brothers; to the Committee on Governmental Affairs.
the centennial of flight commemorative act
Mr. HELMS. Madam President, I have a bill,
S. 1397, at the desk. Now,
Senators DeWine, Faircloth, Glenn, and I are introducing this
legislation, and we are naming it the Centennial of Flight
Commemorative Act. As I indicated, the bill number is
S. 1397.
This significant legislation will establish a commission to assist
the numerous events that will lead up to and include the celebration of
the 100th anniversary of powered flight, a feat in all the history
books, accomplished in my State of North Carolina by the geniuses, two
brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright, Ohio brothers who were born and
raised in Dayton where they operated a bicycle shop.
I don't know whether you have been to Kitty Hawk, particularly in the
middle of December, but it is not a comfortable place to be. Wilbur and
Orville came to the Outer Banks of North Carolina to conduct their
experiments. The first powered flight occurred at Kitty Hawk, NC, on
December 17, 1903. In fact, the Wright brothers engaged in four flights
that day, and with their effort they changed the concept of travel
forever.
About noon on that cold and windy December day, at Kitty Hawk, NC,
the aviation age, the air age, began.
So, Madam President, the Wright brothers were indisputably the first
pioneers of powered flight, and they became national heroes,
justifiably etched in history.
As for our bill,
S. 1397, the able Senator from Ohio, Mr. DeWine, and
the able Senator from Ohio, Mr. Glenn, did excellent work in drafting
this legislation.
Senator Glenn, I am obliged to mention, and I am glad to do so, is a
man of history himself in terms of powered flight. He was the first
American, as all of us know, to orbit the Earth. When he walks up and
down the corridors, I see mamas and daddies pointing to him saying,
``That's Senator Glenn.'' Senator Glenn and six other pioneers, the
Mercury astronauts, got America's space program off the ground.
Madam President,
S. 1397--let me say the title again so it will
register--the Centennial of Flight Commemorative Act--proposes the
establishment of a commission of 21 individuals to plan for and assist
in events leading up to and including the commemoration of the 100th
anniversary of the Wright brothers' flights at Kitty Hawk. The
commission will be composed of the Secretary of the Interior, the
Director of the National Air and Space Museum, the Secretary of
Defense, the Secretary of Transportation, the NASA Administrator, and
each of these officials can name a designee. Then there will be two
representatives each from the States of North Carolina and Ohio and 12
other private citizens.
Of these 12 private citizens, the President of the United States will
appoint two from a list recommended by the Senate majority leader in
consultation with the Senate minority leader, and two from a list
recommended by the Speaker of the House in consultation with the House
minority leader. The remaining eight will be chosen based on
qualifications and/or experience in the fields of history, aerospace,
science, industry, or other professions that will enhance the work of
the commission.
The commission will represent the United States and take a leadership
role with other nations in recognizing the achievement of the Wright
brothers and the importance of aviation history.
The commission's activities will be closely coordinated with the
First Flight Centennial Commission and the First Flight Centennial
Foundation of North Carolina and the 2003 Committee of the State of
Ohio. The commission is allowed to retain an executive director and
staff that may be required in order to carry out its functions.
S. 1397 authorizes appropriations of $250,000 for each of the fiscal
years 1998 to 2004 to fund the work of the commission.
Additionally, the commission may accept monetary contributions and
other in kind contributions, volunteer
[[Page
S11965]]
services and the like. In order to further defray the expenses of the
commission, the legislation gives it exclusive right to names, logos,
emblems, seals, and marks, which may be licensed on which proceeds from
royalties will be used to offset the operating costs of the commission.
S. 1397 requires that annual audits of the commission be conducted by
the Inspector General of the General Services Administration to ensure
its financial integrity.
The commission shall be terminated no later than 60 days after the
submission of the final audit report.
Senators may ask why establish a Federal commission to commemorate
this event? The Wright brothers' triumph at Kitty Hawk on that bone-
chilling day of December 17, 1903 has to rank as one of mankind's
greatest achievement. The world has not been the same since.
As the development of the airplane progressed so did its uses in
warfare and civilian aviation. Its development spawned generations of
aviation trailblazers. Names like Eddie Rickenbacker, Billy Mitchell,
Charles Lindbergh, Jimmy Doolittle, Chuck Yeager, and the Mercury,
Gemini, Apollo, and space shuttle astronauts became household words.
What is even more astonishing is that 66 years later, Neil Armstrong
of Ohio became the first man to set foot on the moon. That would not
have been possible without the Wright brothers.
Because of the Wright brothers you can get on a jet aircraft at
Dulles Airport and be in London in six or seven hours, far less if you
are flying the Concorde. You can fly from New York to Tokyo in 14
hours. On the Concorde, you can travel from New York to London in 3
hours and 50 minutes.
We are seeing daily developments in aviation, faster planes, new
space technologies, all because of the genius of Wilbur and Orville
Wright.
I hope the Senate will swiftly approve this legislation.
Mr. DeWINE. Madam President, I thank the Chair, and I thank my
distinguished colleague from North Carolina.
I am delighted to join him, as well as Senator Faircloth and Senator
Glenn, in introducing a bill to create the Centennial of Flight
Commission.
In the year 2003, the United States and, indeed, the world will
celebrate a truly breathtaking anniversary. That date will mark exactly
100 years of the adventure of human flight. For those of us who are
from the State of Ohio, it is an especially important anniversary as
Senator Helms has so ably described--first and foremost because the
Wright brothers, the very first pioneers of powered flight, were from
Dayton, OH. It was in Dayton, OH, that they grew up. It was in Dayton,
OH, that they had a print shop. It was in Dayton, OH, that they had the
bicycle shop that was referred to a moment ago by Senator Helms.
It was at Huffman Prairie, in Montgomery County, actually what is now
enclosed in Wright Patterson Air Force Base, technically in Greene
County, that the Wright brothers learned to fly. So, those of us from
Ohio are very proud of the Wright brothers, as this whole country is.
We are also proud in Ohio that ever since the time of the Wright
brothers, Ohio has continued to build a proud aviation history. From
the Wright brothers to World War I flying ace David Ingalls, to John
Glenn who just walked on to the floor of the Senate, the first man, the
first American to orbit the Earth, to Neil Armstrong, the first man to
walk on the Moon, to the incredible research being done right now at
NASA Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, OH, has continually been a
part of the great epic of aviation.
This is, indeed, cause for celebration, and that is what this bill is
all about. It would create a commission to coordinate the centennial of
flight celebration in the year 2003. The commission will be composed of
21 members: the Secretaries of the Interior, Transportation, and
Defense; the Director of the National Air and Space Museum; the
Administrator of NASA; two people from North Carolina; the president
and chairman of the First Flight Centennial Commission; and two people
from the State of Ohio, the Governor and the chairman of the 2003
Committee, and 12 additional Presidential appointees.
Madam President, this commission will help the United States take a
leadership role in planning international celebrations of the
centennial of flight, promoting participation and sponsorship by the
aerospace industry, the commercial aviation industry, educational
institutions, and State and local governments.
The commission is going to distribute a calendar, a register of
national and international programs and projects concerning the flight
centennial.
What I hope most of all is that these celebrations will recognize
that the history of flight is not just the story about machines or
about the triumph of technology. It is rather a story about people. It
is a story of how human creativity overcame one of the most fundamental
barriers that humans ever faced.
For hundreds of thousands of years, human beings could not fly, but
in this century, thanks to the freedom and spirit of creativity in this
country, the human race broke the bonds of Earth. So, from Dayton to
Kitty Hawk and beyond the limits of our solar system, this is a story
to truly celebrate.
Madam President, I see my distinguished senior Senator from the State
of Ohio, the honorable John Glenn, is on the floor. I yield to Senator
Glenn.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio is recognized.
Mr. GLENN. Thank you, Madam President. I thank my distinguished
colleague.
I rise as a cosponsor of this legislation to establish a national
Commission on the Centennial of Flight. We have been very proud through
the years to have worked with the people of Dayton, OH, in an effort to
recognize the very exceptional contribution of the two brothers who ran
the bicycle shop and dreamed of flight. They watched the birds and
dreamed of flight, not knowing whether it would ever be possible.
In 1992, it was my privilege to sponsor the legislation that
established the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park which
commemorates the extraordinary lives of Wilbur Wright, Orville Wright,
and Paul Lawrence Dunbar, a black man, a poet, one of the finest poets,
who was a close friend of the Wright brothers.
That park and the memorial in North Carolina recall that on December
17, 1903, Orville Wright flew 120 feet in 12 seconds. Can we imagine
that, 120 feet in 12 seconds? But it was under power. It was the
airplane that is over in the Smithsonian now. It was under powered
flight with an engine and propeller. It was the first sustained flight
in a power-driven, heavier-than-air machine.
There were three other flights that day. We don't often hear about
those. There were three other flights that day, and Wilbur Wright set a
new world record flying on one of those flights 352 feet in 59 seconds.
It was more than the length of a football field.
Very little attention was paid at that time. People were very
doubtful. Octave Chanute reported the achievement in Popular Science
Monthly in March 1904. But the first--I think this is very
interesting--the first eyewitness report about those flights appeared
in a publication called Gleanings in Bee Culture, and that was in
January 1905. That was the first real eyewitness report of Orville and
Wilbur Wright's flights.
The work had begun in 1899 with a serious study of everything the
Wrights could find on aeronautics. In 1900, to test their glider, they
selected Kitty Hawk on the word of the weather bureau because of the
steadiness of the winds and direction of the winds at that time. The
test glider in 1900 and 1901 failed to achieve the lifting power that
they thought they needed and anticipated.
They went back to Dayton and built a 6-foot wind tunnel to conduct
experiments with over 200 different wing models. They developed the
first reliable tables on the effects of air pressure on curved
surfaces, the principles that we use today and that you see on every
airplane, whether it is a general aviation small light airplane or a
giant 747 or whether it is the Concorde flying at supersonic speed
across the Atlantic Ocean.
They developed these 200 different wing models and experimented with
them. They developed the first reliable tables on the effects of air
pressure on curved surfaces.
[[Page
S11966]]
In 1902, they conducted over almost 1,000 tests with a more promising
glider. In 1903, the Wright brothers had completed the construction of
a larger plane powered by their own lightweight gas-powered engine.
Arriving in Kitty Hawk in September, storms and mechanical
difficulties delayed trials until December. On the 17th, four men and a
boy witnessed the very first flight, and a memorable photograph,
fortunately, was captured. Four men and a boy witnessed that first
flight.
Back home in Dayton in 1904 and 1905, the Wright brothers continued
testing their invention at Huffman Prairie, which is the area adjacent
to what is today Wright Patterson Air Force Base where they first
achieved maneuverable flight.
In 1908, Wilbur and Orville signed a contract with the War Department
for the first military airplane. In September, Orville circled the
parade ground at an altitude of 120 feet just across the Potomac River
from us today, over at Fort Meyer in Virginia.
When most people these days think of the Wright brothers, we tend to
think of them as having lived a long, long time ago. We tend to think
of the Wright brothers as being part of ancient history. We also think
of their airplane, the Wright Flyer III, as being an incredibly
primitive machine, at least by today's standards. And it was a
primitive machine. There were no fancy guidance systems or high-tech
controls.
By swiveling their hips from one side to the other, Orville and
Wilbur could steer the airplane. To this day, when young people come
in, when school groups come to Washington and visit my office and they
say they are going over to the Air and Space Museum, I always tell them
to get up on the gallery level and look down on the Wright brothers'
airplane and see how they controlled flight, because the person flying
lay on the lower wing and had a wooden yoke around his hips. That
wooden yoke slid back and forth and there was a wire that went to the
trailing edge of the upper wing, and they would slide in the direction
they wanted to go, slide their hips over, pull that wire and literally
warp the trailing edge of the wing down and made more lift on the wing
on that side and the airplane would turn in the direction their hips
were slid toward.
I am glad they developed later on in aviation a better means of
control. We can imagine a 747 pilot today making an approach swiveling
his hips back and forth. But that was the way the Wright brothers
controlled those very early flights.
The first flight at Kitty Hawk and Huffman Prairie seemed so far
removed from what we did later on, from my own experience in orbital
flight in 1962, or from the first lunar landing, or from living aboard
the orbiting space station for weeks on end, as Shannon Lucid did. She
was up there for 188 days. She will be honored at the Smithsonian this
evening, as a matter of fact. Yet, all this occurred within a lifetime.
I know we kid Senator Thurmond around here quite a lot about his age,
but Senator Thurmond was born December 5, 1902. The Wright brothers did
not fly until a year later, on December 7, 1903. So we have in this
body right now a man whose lifetime spans all of manned flight, powered
flight, from that first day at Kitty Hawk into space. Strom Thurmond
has witnessed the complete history of flight. And we marvel at just how
far we have come in an incredibly short period of time. We have
literally gone from the Wright brothers to the Moon and beyond in a
single lifetime.
That is amazing. In that sense, I think it is fair to say that
Orville and Wilbur Wright were our first astronauts, really, because
they were the first who really did rise off the Earth's surface in a
sustained way and make flight that then advanced to higher and higher
altitudes until we are above the Earth's atmosphere now with different
kinds of machines; though I think in some ways we could say that they
were the first two who, as the poem goes, ``slipped the surly bonds of
Earth''--slipped the surly bonds of Earth and ventured into the air
under the power of a motor.
Everything since then has just been going higher and going faster. I
also think it is fair to say the Wright brothers personified something
that is behind every single leap or advancement in science or human
knowledge since the beginning of time. The one characteristic they
had--we could lump it all together and say that is something that is in
the heart of all human progress--is curiosity and an innate curiosity
about how we can do things differently or whether we can explore and
find new shores or whether we can do experiments and do research in new
areas.
Whether you look at the voyage of Christopher Columbus, who brought
Europeans to the shore of North America, whether you look at the
experiments of Alexander Fleming--you know what Alexander Fleming was
curious about? It was plain old green mold on bread. He did not know
why the patterns formed around the mold the way they did. The green
mold, it was a particular pattern. He was curious about that.
You know what that led to? His curiosity led to the discovery of
penicillin and the development of modern antibiotics. That curiosity
about green mold on bread has led to increased life expectancy of
people all around this Earth. We have gone up in life expectancy more
in the last 100 years than in the previous 2,000 years, I read in a
magazine just a short time ago. So the discovery of penicillin and
Alexander Fleming's curiosity about green bread mold that led to that,
has really revolutionized this Earth.
Or we go ahead with the unexpected circumstance in a small electronic
switching device that led to the development of the first transistor
and ultimately to today's incredibly sophisticated computer systems.
It is clear to me that curiosity isn't what killed the cat. It is
also the goose that laid the golden egg for all of humankind. That is
going to be true in the future as well as the past. In field after
field, in discipline after discipline, in industry after industry, it
is curiosity, that insatiable, relentlessly questioning spirit that
keeps asking ``why'' that has moved our species ahead.
The irony, of course, is any time someone or a group such as the
Wright brothers, or a group of people undertake an exploration or
undertake to demonstrate a new idea, whether in a laboratory, a
spaceship, a bicycle shop or on a production line, there are many who
question the wisdom of it all. Those naysayers who wanted to know when
their bike would be fixed with the Wright brothers believed that if we
were to fly God would have given us feathers, they said.
So there was a joke about the Wright brothers at that time. ``If God
wanted us to fly, why don't we have feathers?" Well, they fortunately
laughed along with everybody else, but at the same time went ahead with
their work. They were not deterred. But if there is one thing we know
for sure about research or any kind of exploration of the unknown, it
is that it is impossible to know what we will see at the end or what it
may lead to.
I believe that today, as perhaps never before, we cannot afford to
lose that kind of curiosity and questing spirit that the Wright
brothers had. With it, we can continue to learn new things, first, for
this Nation, putting them to practical application, staying ahead of
global competition. That has been the story of this country's
advancement. Without it, we will quickly become yesterday's leader,
yesterday's leader, not tomorrow's leader but yesterday's leader,
hopelessly trying to hold back the hands of the clock and to hold on to
a past glory that can never be just retained or recaptured.
So the spirit of the Wright brothers is needed as much today as
before their very first flight. That is why today I am pleased to join
with my colleagues--my colleague from Ohio, my colleagues from North
Carolina--in introducing this legislation to establish a national
commission to assist in the commemoration of the centennial of powered
flight that will occur in 2003 and the achievements of the Wright
brothers. Those who worked to build our national parks and memorials to
the Wright brothers in Ohio and North Carolina where flight was born
and first achieved will now work together to recall and remember the
spirit of flight to be commemorated as we approach the centennial of
flight in 2003.
The spirit represented by the Wright brothers was captured in their
own day by their good friend, Paul Lawrence
[[Page
S11967]]
Dunbar, who captured in the prophetic verse which he penned the
triumphs that are remembered at the Dayton Aviation Heritage National
Historical Park. One of his notations was:
What dreams we have
and how they fly
like rosy clouds
across the sky;
of wealth, of fame
of sure success . . .
That is certainly what curiosity has brought us and what the Wright
brothers brought us.
Think of all that has occurred since that first flight at Kitty Hawk
in 1903. Think of aviation today and all it entails and the giant
industry. It has revised all the world's transportation, has revised
our military, our security. All of that stemmed from that first flight
in 1903.
So we are happy to put in this legislation today. We hope that it is
supported by all here, not just those from Ohio and North Carolina,
because what started there in 1903 is something that affects everyone.
It affects every State and every nation around the globe, even these
days. And we look forward to this commission doing a great job in
assisting in the commemoration of the centennial of powered flight and
the achievements of the Wright brothers.
Mr. FAIRCLOTH. Mr. President, today I am pleased to be an original
cosponsor of legislation being introduced by Senator Helms--the two
Senators from Ohio--that would establish a National Commission to
oversee the 100th anniversary of the first flight.
Mr. President, on a cold, windy December morning in 1903, in the
Outer Banks of North Carolina, the Wright brothers changed the history
of the world. Orville Wright flew for just 12 seconds--but it was the
first manned flight.
Today, many people take for granted what was accomplished by the
Wright brothers that day, but at the time it was a historic
achievement. Man had been thinking of flight for thousand of years--and
yet the Wright brothers, here in the United States, were the first to
do it.
The development of flight grew rapidly. A little over a decade later,
airplanes were used in the battles of World War I. Two decades after
the 12-second first flight--Charles Lindbergh flew over the Atlantic.
And of course, in 1962, in just a half century after the first 12-
second flight, our distinguished colleague John Glenn was the first man
to fly around the world in space. Seven years after that, we landed a
man on the Moon.
It is hard to believe that all of this has taken place in the span of
less than 100 years.
This is why the centennial anniversary of first flight is so
significant to us, the sponsors of this legislation.
The Commission will coordinate the plans for the celebration. The
Wright brothers were from Ohio, of course, where they ran a bicycle
shop. The State of North Carolina's license plates bear the slogan
``First in Flight''--so we are especially proud of this achievement in
my State. To these two States, the celebration is important.
But much more than that, I think the anniversary should be used to
inspire students to learn more about the history of flight. Hopefully,
it will remind people that this is a great nation inventors--and that
American ingenuity has made us the greatest country in the history of
the world. Finally, it should remind our citizens that America is a
land of opportunity and freedom--where anyone's imagination can change
the world. This is an entrepreneurial spirit that we must keep alive.
I want to thank Senator Helms and Senators Glenn and DeWine for
joining together today to introduce this legislation. I hope that the
Senate will take it up soon.
______
By Mr. THOMAS (for himself, Mr. Kerrey, Mr. Enzi, and Mr. Hagel):
S. 1398. A bill to extend certain contracts between the Bureau of
Reclamation and irrigation water contractors in Wyoming and Nebraska
that receive water from Glendo Reservoir; to the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources.
THE IRRIGATION PROJECT CONTRACT EXTENSION ACT OF 1997
Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Irrigation
Project Contract Extension Act of 1997. I am pleased to be joined in
this endeavor by Senators Enzi, Kerrey, and Hagel.
This legislation would extend, for a period of 3 years, certain water
contracts between the Bureau of Reclamation and irrigators in Wyoming
and Nebraska that receive water from Glendo Reservoir. All contracts
are subject to renewal on December 31, 1998. Extending these contracts
is considered a major Federal action and, therefore, subject to review
of the National Environmental Policy Act [NEPA] and the Endangered
Species Act [ESA]. Without a short-term continuation agreement, the
irrigators would be responsible for the costs of the analysis and other
environmental documentation.
Currently, the States of Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado--and the
Department of the Interior--are in the process of implementing a
comprehensive ``Cooperative Agreement for Platte River Research and
Other Efforts relating to Endangered Species Habitats along the Central
Platte River, Nebraska.'' The term of this initiative is for 3 years,
with an allowable 6-month extension. Upon completion of the cooperative
agreement, efforts to enact the Platte River Recovery Implementation
Program can begin. This basin wide, three-State plan will help to
recover the endangered whooping crane, piping plover, and least stern,
and improve critical habitats in the Central Platte River Basin.
I believe it is important for Congress to act on this measure and
extend these contracts for 3 years, or until the cooperative agreement
is completed. In that time, the needed NEPA and ESA reviews will be
fulfilled--clearing the way for the program to be initiated. It is
important to remember that the program cannot be implemented until the
environmental studies are completed and the parties have agreed to the
results.
Mr. President, this bill does not avoid environmental evaluation. It
merely provides some relief to the water users, while allowing the NEPA
and ESA documentation to take place through the cooperative agreement
process. It is my understanding that once this agreement has expired,
and if the Department of the Interior and the three States decide not
to pursue the program, the contract renewal process would proceed as a
separate Federal action at that time.
This is good and fair legislation. It will benefit the environment
and the water users. I look forward to working with my colleagues in
the Senate and House to secure its passage.
______
By Mr. BOND:
S. 1399. A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Army to carry out a
project to protect and enhance fish and wildlife habitat of the
Missouri River and the middle Mississippi River; to the Committee on
Environment and Public Works.
THE FISH AND WILDLIFE HABITAT ACT OF 1997
Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce legislation to
enhance, preserve and protect habitat for fish and wildlife on the
Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. This new 5-year $50 million
authorization is a win-win approach that will implement and expand the
use of new and innovative measures developed by the Corps of Engineers
to improve habitat conservation without impacting adversely private
property and other water-related needs of the rivers including
navigation, flood control and water supply.
As I have always maintained, fish and wildlife conservation and
commercial activity are not mutually exclusive. Indeed, we cannot
afford to abandon either river commerce or the species that live in and
on the river. This new approach is a win for man, for nature and for
the river.
This legislation is supported by Missouri Farm Bureau, MARC2000,
American Rivers, the Missouri Soybean Association, the Missouri
Corngrowers Association, and Farmland Industries. While these groups
have not always agreed on river policy, that should not preclude us
from seeking common ground and working together to address the
questions of resource management and I am delighted that we can all
come together in support of this commonsense approach.
Without specific authorization and only scarce dollars, the St. Louis
Corps of Engineers has been developing and
[[Page
S11968]]
testing ways in which navigation structures used to guide the river and
maintain the channel may be modified to meet environmental as well as
navigation goals. These innovations have proven successful earning wide
acclaim including a Presidential Design Award and Federal Design
Achievement Award.
This legislation seeks to put these successful innovations to work on
the Missouri River and expand their use on the middle Mississippi by
providing a specific authorization and a dedicated and substantial
source of funds. In other words, we are giving the corps the tools they
need to put their ideas to work to improve the rivers to benefit fish
and wildlife.
The legislation authorizes $10 million per year to protect, create
and enhance side channels, island habitat, sand bars, and other
riverine habitat. For example, by notching rock dikes that run
perpendicular to the shoreline, sandbars develop between the dikes
which has been provided nesting habitat for the endangered least tern
and valuable spawning ground for the endangered pallid sturgeon. The
Missouri Department of Conservation has run tests validating an
increase in diversity and numbers of microinvertebrates surrounding the
notched dikes.
Chevron dikes have been developed to improve river habitat and to
create beneficial uses of dredge material. These structures are placed
in the shallow side of the river channel pointing upstream which
improves the river channel while serving as small islands. These
islands encourage the development of all four primary river ecosystem
habitats and additionally, various micro-organisms cling to the
underwater rock structures, providing a food source for fish.
Changing the gradation of rock revetments, used to stabilize eroding
riverbanks, has proved to provide greater bank stability and precluded
the need to remove bank vegetation so that, for the first time, trees
and rock revetment could coexist providing greater habitat diversity.
The draft legislation authorizes $10 million per year over 5 years to
develop and implement a plan including the following activities:
Modification and improvement of navigation training structures to
protect and enhance fish and wildlife habitat; creation of side
channels to protect and enhance fish and wildlife habitat; restoration
and creation of island fish and wildlife habitat; creation of riverine
fish and wildlife habitat; establishment of criteria to prioritize
based on cost-effectiveness and likelihood of success; and physical and
biological monitoring for evaluating the success of the project.
The draft provides that the project be coordinated with other related
Federal and State activities and that there be public participation in
the development and implementation of the project. It requires a 25-
percent non-Federal cost share and limits the Federal cost of any
single project to $5 million. Finally, the draft legislation confers no
new regulatory authority and requires compliance with the National
Environmental Policy Act.
The legislation is designed to work between the banks of the river
and forbids expressly any adverse impacts on private lands and water-
related activities including flood control, navigation, and water
supply. Additionally, it is designed to compliment other existing
programs such as the Missouri River Mitigation project and the
Environmental Management Program on the Mississippi River.
I intend to work with the administration and with other Senators and
interested groups to build the broad support necessary to enact this
legislation in an omnibus Water Resources Development Act the Senate is
expected to consider in 1998.
Mr. President, the problems experienced in the Midwest and elsewhere
with railroad bottlenecks highlight the need for diverse transportation
options. As the fall harvest proceeds, there are reports of grain being
piled on the ground in neighboring Kansas and Nebraska. Notwithstanding
that I must continue working on behalf of Missouri to preserve river
navigation as a transportation option, our joint efforts to pursue this
new legislation is a strong indicator that we may be experiencing an
episode of domestic detente on river policy between groups that have
pursued differing approaches in the past. This legislation offers a
significant boost for our need to make the various river uses
compatible and an important step toward unifying the river's
stakeholders behind a realistic approach for the future.
I thank and congratulate the various groups who have come together
behind this legislation and look forward to enacting this consensus
legislation.
______
By Mr. BUMPERS (for himself and Mr. Gorton):
S. 1401. A bill to provide for the transition to competition around
electric energy suppliers for the benefit and protection of consumers,
and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources.
the transition to electric competition act of 1997
Mr. BUMPERS. Mr. President, I rise to day to introduce the Transition
to Electric Competition Act of 1997 along with my colleague from the
State of Washington, Senator Gorton. This bill provides for the
transition toward deregulation and competition in the electric utility
industry.
While few people find a discussion of the electric utility industry
and the many laws and regulations governing the industry exciting, the
fact is that electricity is an extremely important commodity which
affects everyone on a daily basis. Any event that increases or reduces
electric rates can impact: First, the lives of the poor and those on
fixed incomes that depend on electricity to heat their homes in the
winter and cool them in the summer; second, the price of goods we buy
every day; as well as third, the competitiveness of our factories. In
addition, decisions made by electric generators often have a direct
effect on our environment as well as our energy security.
It is not at all inconsequential that the electric utility industry,
which has remained relatively static for the last 60 years, is
undergoing a fundamental change. Instead of the traditional vertically
integrated local utility, which generates power at its own plants,
transmits that power over its own lines and sells that power to all
consumers in a particular area, consumers in some States are starting
to be bombarded with all sorts of offers from companies competing to
become their power supplier, and other entrepreneurs will be seeking to
buy large blocks of power to serve certain kinds of consumers.
Naturally, these changes are bound to create considerable apprehension
among both utilities and consumers.
Mr. President, in January I introduced
S. 237, the Electric Consumers
Protection Act, because I believed that retail electric competition was
inevitable and Federal legislation was necessary to ensure that certain
consumers were not disadvantaged in the process. Several States were
proceeding to introduce competition in their jurisdictions and a number
of others were examining the matter. Since that time I have become even
more convinced that competition is on the horizon. Eleven States have
now enacted legislation or issued regulations requiring retail
competition by a time certain. Almost every other State currently has
the matter under review.
Some argue that there is no need for the Federal Government to
intervene; that the States are doing just fine on their own and they
should decide when and how to proceed with retail electric competition.
Mr. President, I couldn't disagree more.
A State-by-State approach will likely produce a lot of unintended
consequences which will limit the benefits associated with retail
competition and could disadvantage certain consumers. Electric
generation markets are becoming increasingly regional and even multi-
regional. What happens in one State can have direct and indirect
impacts on consumers and utilities located in another State. Utilities
operating in more than one State can be subjected to conflicting
regulatory regimes which could impact the way they operate their
systems and the electric rates paid by consumers.
This phenomenon is best illustrated by the multistate utility holding
companies registered under the Public Utility Holding Company [PUHCA].
I have had a lot of experience with registered holding companies
because two of them serve my home State of Arkansas. These holding
companies generally plan for and operate generating facilities on a
system-wide basis for the benefit of customers in the entire region
[[Page
S11969]]
served by the company. If restructuring proceeds on a State-by-State
basis, these holding companies would find themselves subjected to
different requirements which could negatively impact consumers.
A State-by-State approach to retail competition also present problems
where utilities operate entirely within a single State. It would make
no sense for a utility in a State that does not require retail
competition, to be able to sell power at retail in an adjoining State
that requires retail competition, while a utility subjected to retail
competition is unable to mitigate its losses by competing for customers
in the adjoining State. Such a result both increases stranded costs and
distorts the generation marketplace.
Moreover, the States can't adequately address issues associated with
the use of transmission lines that provide for the transportation
across a number of States or the ability of a utility with significant
market power to dominate electricity generation in an entire region.
Clearly these are issues that need to be resolved at the Federal level.
When I introduced
S. 237 there weren't many calling for Federal
action. However, interested observers are increasingly coming to the
conclusion that Federal electric restructuring legislation is not only
helpful, but is necessary. Even some of the States are calling on the
Federal Government to act.
The legislation we are introducing today is an updated version of S.
237. The bill includes the following provisions: All consumers would
have the right to choose their power supplier by January 1, 2002.
States could choose an earlier date for their residents if they wish.
Utilities would be able to recover their legitimate, prudent and
verifiable costs that they would have been able to recover from
ratepayers if retail competition had not been implemented. Consumers
located in States that currently have low cost electricity would be
protected from rate increases by ensuring that utilities can't use
their existing assets to sell power in more lucrative markets to the
disadvantage of their existing customers. All utilities selling retail
power would be required to generate a portion of that power using
renewable resources. All of the interstate transmission facilities
throughout the country would be managed by independent system operators
to ensure that electricity flows in an efficient manner and that
markets are competitive. FERC would be given greater authority to
protect against the use of market power by utilities to inhibit
competition. Both the Public Utility Holding Company Act [PUHCA] and
the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act [PURPA] would be repealed in
conjunction with the implementation of retail electric competition.
In addition, Mr. President, the legislation attempts to address some
of the issues that relate to the impact of retail electric competition
on two Federal entities--the Bonneville Power Administration [BPA] and
the Tennessee Valley Authority [TVA]. Senator Gorton is especially
knowledgeable about the special problems facing BPA and I expect that
he will work closely with the other Members of the Senate from the
Pacific Northwest in developing a consensus approach.
With regard to TVA, our bill attempts to develop an approach that
will enable retail competition to be smoothly introduced in the
Tennessee Valley and will help TVA pay off its tremendous debt. The
bill also requires the TVA board to prepare a study examining whether
TVA should be privatized. I know that some observers may be concerned
that this could be a first step toward the privatization of the Federal
Power Marketing Administration [PMA's]. Mr. President, there is no
connection whatsoever between TVA and the PMA's. The PMA's market power
generated at hydroelectric facilities located at Federal dams. These
dams perform a variety of public services and cannot be privatized.
TVA, on the other hand, generates the bulk of its power from coal and
nuclear plants that serve no public purposes. In addition, the Federal
PMA's pay for themselves through power sales. TVA, on the other hand,
has an enormous level of privately held debt which it must find a way
to pay off, since the Federal Government is not responsible for it.
Mr. President, I am especially pleased that Senator Gorton has
decided to join with me in the effort to enact comprehensive electric
restructuring legislation. He has a reputation as a very bright and
thoughtful Member of this body and is a distinguished member of the
Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which has jurisdiction over the
matter. I know that he shares my desire to move this legislation
through Congress quickly next year.
Senator Murkowski, the chairman of the Senate Energy Committee,
recently indicated that he expects the committee to mark up electric
restructuring legislation next year. Both Senator Gorton and I want to
work with him and the other members of the committee in moving forward.
I look forward to undertaking this important task.
Mr. President, I want to say how honored I am to have one of our most
distinguished Senators, Senator Gorton of Washington, as my chief
cosponsor on this bill.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be
printed in the Record.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a section-by-section
analysis of the Transition to Electric Competition Act of 1997 be
printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
S. 1401
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short title. This Act may be cited as the ``Transition
to Electric Competition Act of 1997''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Severability.
Sec. 5. Enforcement.
TITLE I--RETAIL COMPETITION
Sec. 101. Mandatory retail access.
Sec. 102. Aggregation.
Sec. 103. Prior implementation.
Sec. 104. State regulation.
Sec. 105. Retail stranded cost recovery.
Sec. 106. Wholesale stranded cost recovery.
Sec. 107. Lost retail benefits.
Sec. 108. Universal service.
Sec. 109. Public benefits.
Sec. 110. Renewable energy.
Sec. 111. Determination of local distribution facilities.
Sec. 112. Transmission.
Sec. 113. Competitive generation markets.
Sec. 114. Nuclear decommissioning costs.
Sec. 115. Right to know.
Sec. 116. Exemption of Alaska and Hawaii.
TITLE II--PUBLIC UTILITY HOLDING COMPANIES
Sec. 201. Repeal of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935.
Sec. 202. Exemptions.
Sec. 203. Federal access to books and records.
Sec. 204. State access to books and records.
Sec. 205. Affiliate transactions.
Sec. 206. Clarification of regulatory authority.
Sec. 207. Effect on other regulation.
Sec. 208. Enforcement.
Sec. 209. Savings provision.
Sec. 210. Implementation.
Sec. 211. Resources.
TITLE III--PUBLIC UTILITY REGULATORY POLICIES ACT
Sec. 301. Definition.
Sec. 302. Facilities.
Sec. 303. Contracts.
Sec. 304. Savings clause.
Sec. 305. Effective date.
TITLE IV--ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Sec. 401. Study.
TITLE V--BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION
Sec. 501. Findings and purposes.
Sec. 502. Columbia River fish and wildlife coordination and governance.
Sec. 503. Pacific Northwest federal transmission access.
Sec. 504. Transition cost mechanism.
Sec. 505. Independent system operator participation.
Sec. 506. Financial obligations.
Sec. 507. Prohibition on retail sales.
Sec. 508. Clarification of Commission authority.
Sec. 509. Repealed statute.
TITLE VI--TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY
Sec. 601. Competition in service territory.
Sec. 602. Ability to sell electric energy.
Sec. 603. Termination of contracts.
Sec. 604. Rates for electric energy.
Sec. 605. Privatization study.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that:
(a) Congress has the authority to enact laws, under the
Commerce Clause of the
[[Page
S11970]]
United States Constitution, regarding the wholesale and
retail generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of
electric energy in interstate commerce.
(b) Several States have taken steps to require competition
among retail electric supplies and a large number of other
States are expected to act.
(c) It has been the policy of Congress and the Commission
to promote competition among wholesale electric suppliers.
(d) It is in the public interest that the transition
towards competition in electric service ensures that all
consumers receive reliable and competitively-priced electric
service.
(e) Electric utility companies that prudently incurred
costs pursuant to a regulatory structure that required them
to provide electricity to consumers should not be penalized
during the transition to competition.
(f) Consumers will not benefit from the introduction of
competition among electric energy suppliers if certain
suppliers have undue market power.
(g) It is important to encourage conservation and the use
of renewable resources to reduce reliance on fossil fuels,
promote domestic energy security and protect the environment.
(h) Competition among electric energy suppliers should not
degrade reliability nor cause consumers to lose electric
service.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(a) The term ``affiliate'' of a specific company means any
company 5 percent or more of whose outstanding voting
securities are owned, controlled, or held with power to vote,
directly or indirectly, by such specific company.
(b) The term ``aggregator'' means any person that purchases
or acquires retail electric energy on behalf of two or more
consumers.
(c) The term ``ancillary services'' shall have the same
meaning assigned to it by the Commission.
(d) The term ``associate company'' of a company means any
company in the same holding company system with such company.
(e) The term ``Commission'' means the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission.
(f) The term ``company'' means a corporation, joint stock
company, partnership, association, business trust, organized
group of persons, whether incorporated or not, or a receiver
or receivers, trustee or trustees of any of the foregoing.
(g) The term ``corporation'' means any corporation, joint-
stock company, partnership, association, rural electric
cooperative, municipal utility, business trust, organized
group of persons, whether incorporated or not, or a receiver
or receivers, trustee or trustees of any of the foregoing.
(h) The term ``electric utility company'' means any company
that owns or operates facilities used for the generation,
transmission or distribution of electric energy for sale.
(i) The term ``gas utility company'' means any company that
owns or operates facilities used for distribution at retail
(other than the distribution only in enclosed portable
containers) of natural or manufactured gas for heat, light or
power.
(j) The term ``holding company system'' means a holding
company together with its subsidiary companies.
(k) The term ``large hydroelectric facility'' means a
facility which has a power production capacity which,
together with any other facilities located at the same site,
is greater than 80 megawatts.
(l) The term ``local distribution facilities'' means
facilities used to provide retail electric energy for
ultimate consumption.
(m) The term ``lost retail benefits'' means the increased
cost of retail electric energy in a retail electric energy
provider's service territory resulting from the sale
subsequent to the implementation of retail electric
competition, outside such service territory, of electric
energy generated at facilities the cost of which were
included in the retail rate base of the retail electric
energy provider prior to the implementation of retail
electric competition.
(n) The term ``mitigation'' means any widely accepted
business practice used by an electric utility company to
dispose of or reduce uneconomic assets or costs.
(o) The term ``municipal utility'' means a city, county,
irrigation district, drainage district, or other political
subdivision or agency of a State competent under the laws
thereof to carry on the business of a retail electric energy
provider and/or a retail electric energy supplier.
(p) The term ``person'' means an individual or corporation.
(q) The term ``public utility company'' means an electric
utility company or gas utility company but does not mean a
qualifying facility as defined in the Public Utility
Regulatory Policies Act, or an exempt wholesale generator or
a foreign utility company defined in the Energy Policy Act of
1992.
(r) The term ``public utility holding company'' means (A)
any company that directly or indirectly owns, controls, or
holds with power to vote, 10 percent or more of the
outstanding voting securities of a public utility company or
of a holding company of any public utility company; and (B)
any person, determined by the Securities and Exchange
Commission, after notice and opportunity for hearing, to
exercise directly or indirectly (either alone or pursuant to
an arrangement or understanding with one or more persons)
such a controlling influence over the management or policies
of any public utility or holding company as to make it
necessary or appropriate for the protection of consumers with
respect to rates that such person be subject to the
obligations, duties, and liabilities imposed in this title
upon holding companies.
(s) The term ``renewable energy'' means electricity
generated from solar, wind, waste, including municipal solid
waste, biomass, hydroelectric or geothermal resources.
(t) The term ``Renewable Energy Credit'' means a tradable
certificate of proof that one unit (as determined by the
Commission) of renewable energy was generated by any person.
(u) The term ``retail electric competition'' means the
ability of each consumer in a particular State to purchase
retail electric energy from any person seeking to sell
electric energy to such consumer.
(v) The term ``retail electric energy'' means electric
energy and ancillary services sold for ultimate consumption.
(w) The term ``retail electric energy provider'' means any
person who distributes retail electric energy to consumers
regardless of whether the consumers purchase such energy from
the provider or an alternative supplier. A retail electric
energy provider may also be a retail electric energy
supplier.
(x) The term ``retail electric energy supplier'' means any
person which sells retail electric energy to consumers.
(y) The term ``retail stranded costs'' means all
legitimate, prudent, verifiable and non-mitigatable costs
incurred by an electric utility company in all of its
generation assets which would have been recoverable in retail
rates but for the implementation of retail electric
competition, less the total market value of these assets
after retail electric competition is implemented. Binding
power purchase contracts and regulatory assets, the costs of
which would have been recovered but for the implementation of
retail electric competition, shall be considered generation
assets for purposes of this subsection.
(z) The term ``rural electric cooperative'' means a
corporation that is currently paying off a loan for the
purposes of providing electric service from the Administrator
of the Rural Electrification Administration or the Rural
Utilities Service under the Rural Electrification Act of
1936.
(aa) The term ``State'' means any State or the District of
Columbia.
(bb) The term ``State regulatory authority'' means the
regulatory body of a State or municipality having sole
jurisdiction to regulate rates and charges for the
distribution of electric energy to consumers within the State
or municipality.
(cc) The term ``subsidiary company'' of a holding company
means--
(1) any company 10 percent or more of the outstanding
voting securities of which are directly or indirectly owned,
controlled, or held with power to vote, by such holding
company; and
(2) any person the management or policies of which the
Securities and Exchange Commission, after notice and
opportunity for hearing, determines to be subject to a
controlling influence, directly or indirectly, by such
holding company (either alone or pursuant to an arrangement
or understanding with one or more other persons) so as to
make it necessary for the protection of consumers that such
person be subject to the obligations, duties, and liabilities
imposed upon subsidiary companies of public utility holding
companies.
(dd) The term ``transmission system'' means all facilities,
including federally-owned facilities, transmitting
electricity in interstate commerce in a particular region,
including all facilities transmitting electricity in the
State of Texas and those providing international
interconnections, but does not include local distribution
facilities as determined by the Commission.
(ee) The term ``wholesale electric energy'' means electric
energy and ancillary services sold for resale.
(ff) The term ``wholesale electric energy supplier'' means
any person which sells wholesale electric energy.
(gg) The term ``wholesale stranded costs'' shall have the
same meaning as in the Commission's Order No. 888.
(hh) The term ``voting security'' means any security
presently entitling the owner or holder thereof to vote in
the direction or management of the affairs of a company.
SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act, or the application of such
provision to any person or circumstance, shall be held
invalid, the remainder of the Act, and the application of
such provision to persons or circumstances other than those
as to which it is held invalid, shall not be affected
thereby.
SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Violation of the Act.--If any individual or corporation
or any other retail electric energy supplier or provider
fails to comply with the requirements of this Act, any
aggrieved person may bring an action against such entity to
enforce the requirements of this Act in the appropriate
Federal district court.
(b) State or Commission Action.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, any person seeking redress from an action
taken by a State regulatory authority, the Commission or a
regulatory board pursuant to this Act shall bring such action
in the appropriate circuit of the United States Court of
Appeals.
[[Page
S11971]]
TITLE I--ELECTRIC COMPETITION
SEC. 101. MANDATORY RETAIL ACCESS.
(a) Customer Choice.--Beginning on January 1, 2002, each
consumer shall have the right to purchase retail electric
energy from any person offering to sell retail electric
energy to such consumer, subject to any limitations imposed
pursuant to section 104(a) of this Act.
(b) Local Distribution and Retail Transmission
Facilities.--Beginning on January 1, 2002, all persons
seeking to sell retail electric energy shall have reasonable
and nondiscriminatory access, on an unbundled basis, to the
local distribution and retail transmission facilities of all
retail electric energy providers and all ancillary
services.
SEC. 102. AGGREGATION.
Subject to any limitations imposed pursuant to section
104(a) of this Act, a group of consumers or any person acting
on behalf of such group may purchase or acquire retail
electric energy for the members of the group if they are
located in a State or States where there is retail electric
competition.
SEC. 103. PRIOR IMPLEMENTATION.
(a) State Action.--Nothing in the Federal Power Act (16
U.S.C. 824 et seq.) shall be deemed to prohibit a State or
State regulatory authority, if authorized under State law,
from requiring retail electric energy providers selling
retail electric energy to consumers in such State to provide
reasonable and nondiscriminatory access, on an unbundled
basis, to its local distribution facilities and all ancillary
services to any retail electric energy supplier prior to
January 1, 2002.
(b) Grandfather.--Legislation enacted by a State or a
regulation issued by a State regulatory authority which has
the effect of providing all consumers in such State the
opportunity to purchase retail electric energy from any
retail electric energy supplier by January 1, 2002 and
provides electric utility companies with the opportunity to
recover their retail stranded costs as defined by this Act
(unless there is an agreement between a State or State
regulatory authority and a retail electric energy provider
which provides for a different level of recovery), shall be
deemed to be in compliance with the requirements of sections
101 and 105 of this Act.
(c) Reciprocity.--A State or State regulatory authority
that provides for retail electric competition may preclude
any retail electric energy provider selling retail electric
energy to consumers in another State and their affiliates
from selling retail electric energy to consumers in the State
with retail electric competition if the retail electric
energy provider does not provide reasonable and
nondiscriminatory access, on an unbundled basis, to its local
distribution facilities to any retail electric energy
supplier.
SEC. 104. STATE REGULATION.
(a) State Requirements.--A State or a State regulatory
authority may impose requirements on persons seeking to sell
retail electric energy to consumers in that State which are
intended to promote the public interest, including
requirements related to generation reliability and the
provision of information to consumers and other retail
electric energy suppliers. Any such requirements must be
applied on a nondiscriminatory basis and may not be used to
exclude any class of potential suppliers, such as retail
electric energy providers, from the opportunity to sell
retail electric energy.
(b) Maintenance of State Authority.--Nothing in this Act is
intended to prohibit a State from enacting laws or imposing
regulations related to retail electric energy service that
are consistent with the requirements of this Act.
(c) Continued State Authority Over Distribution.--A State
or State regulatory authority may continue to regulate local
distribution service currently subject to State regulation,
including billing and metering in any manner consistent with
this Act.
SEC. 105. RETAIL STRANDED COST RECOVERY.
(a) Application
Amendments:
Cosponsors:
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
Sponsor:
Summary:
All articles in Senate section
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
(Senate - November 07, 1997)
Text of this article available as:
TXT
PDF
[Pages
S11964-S12022]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. HELMS (for himself, Mr. Glenn, Mr. DeWine, and Mr.
Faircloth):
S. 1397. A bill to establish a commission to assist in commemoration
of the centennial of powered flight and the achievements of the Wright
brothers; to the Committee on Governmental Affairs.
the centennial of flight commemorative act
Mr. HELMS. Madam President, I have a bill,
S. 1397, at the desk. Now,
Senators DeWine, Faircloth, Glenn, and I are introducing this
legislation, and we are naming it the Centennial of Flight
Commemorative Act. As I indicated, the bill number is
S. 1397.
This significant legislation will establish a commission to assist
the numerous events that will lead up to and include the celebration of
the 100th anniversary of powered flight, a feat in all the history
books, accomplished in my State of North Carolina by the geniuses, two
brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright, Ohio brothers who were born and
raised in Dayton where they operated a bicycle shop.
I don't know whether you have been to Kitty Hawk, particularly in the
middle of December, but it is not a comfortable place to be. Wilbur and
Orville came to the Outer Banks of North Carolina to conduct their
experiments. The first powered flight occurred at Kitty Hawk, NC, on
December 17, 1903. In fact, the Wright brothers engaged in four flights
that day, and with their effort they changed the concept of travel
forever.
About noon on that cold and windy December day, at Kitty Hawk, NC,
the aviation age, the air age, began.
So, Madam President, the Wright brothers were indisputably the first
pioneers of powered flight, and they became national heroes,
justifiably etched in history.
As for our bill,
S. 1397, the able Senator from Ohio, Mr. DeWine, and
the able Senator from Ohio, Mr. Glenn, did excellent work in drafting
this legislation.
Senator Glenn, I am obliged to mention, and I am glad to do so, is a
man of history himself in terms of powered flight. He was the first
American, as all of us know, to orbit the Earth. When he walks up and
down the corridors, I see mamas and daddies pointing to him saying,
``That's Senator Glenn.'' Senator Glenn and six other pioneers, the
Mercury astronauts, got America's space program off the ground.
Madam President,
S. 1397--let me say the title again so it will
register--the Centennial of Flight Commemorative Act--proposes the
establishment of a commission of 21 individuals to plan for and assist
in events leading up to and including the commemoration of the 100th
anniversary of the Wright brothers' flights at Kitty Hawk. The
commission will be composed of the Secretary of the Interior, the
Director of the National Air and Space Museum, the Secretary of
Defense, the Secretary of Transportation, the NASA Administrator, and
each of these officials can name a designee. Then there will be two
representatives each from the States of North Carolina and Ohio and 12
other private citizens.
Of these 12 private citizens, the President of the United States will
appoint two from a list recommended by the Senate majority leader in
consultation with the Senate minority leader, and two from a list
recommended by the Speaker of the House in consultation with the House
minority leader. The remaining eight will be chosen based on
qualifications and/or experience in the fields of history, aerospace,
science, industry, or other professions that will enhance the work of
the commission.
The commission will represent the United States and take a leadership
role with other nations in recognizing the achievement of the Wright
brothers and the importance of aviation history.
The commission's activities will be closely coordinated with the
First Flight Centennial Commission and the First Flight Centennial
Foundation of North Carolina and the 2003 Committee of the State of
Ohio. The commission is allowed to retain an executive director and
staff that may be required in order to carry out its functions.
S. 1397 authorizes appropriations of $250,000 for each of the fiscal
years 1998 to 2004 to fund the work of the commission.
Additionally, the commission may accept monetary contributions and
other in kind contributions, volunteer
[[Page
S11965]]
services and the like. In order to further defray the expenses of the
commission, the legislation gives it exclusive right to names, logos,
emblems, seals, and marks, which may be licensed on which proceeds from
royalties will be used to offset the operating costs of the commission.
S. 1397 requires that annual audits of the commission be conducted by
the Inspector General of the General Services Administration to ensure
its financial integrity.
The commission shall be terminated no later than 60 days after the
submission of the final audit report.
Senators may ask why establish a Federal commission to commemorate
this event? The Wright brothers' triumph at Kitty Hawk on that bone-
chilling day of December 17, 1903 has to rank as one of mankind's
greatest achievement. The world has not been the same since.
As the development of the airplane progressed so did its uses in
warfare and civilian aviation. Its development spawned generations of
aviation trailblazers. Names like Eddie Rickenbacker, Billy Mitchell,
Charles Lindbergh, Jimmy Doolittle, Chuck Yeager, and the Mercury,
Gemini, Apollo, and space shuttle astronauts became household words.
What is even more astonishing is that 66 years later, Neil Armstrong
of Ohio became the first man to set foot on the moon. That would not
have been possible without the Wright brothers.
Because of the Wright brothers you can get on a jet aircraft at
Dulles Airport and be in London in six or seven hours, far less if you
are flying the Concorde. You can fly from New York to Tokyo in 14
hours. On the Concorde, you can travel from New York to London in 3
hours and 50 minutes.
We are seeing daily developments in aviation, faster planes, new
space technologies, all because of the genius of Wilbur and Orville
Wright.
I hope the Senate will swiftly approve this legislation.
Mr. DeWINE. Madam President, I thank the Chair, and I thank my
distinguished colleague from North Carolina.
I am delighted to join him, as well as Senator Faircloth and Senator
Glenn, in introducing a bill to create the Centennial of Flight
Commission.
In the year 2003, the United States and, indeed, the world will
celebrate a truly breathtaking anniversary. That date will mark exactly
100 years of the adventure of human flight. For those of us who are
from the State of Ohio, it is an especially important anniversary as
Senator Helms has so ably described--first and foremost because the
Wright brothers, the very first pioneers of powered flight, were from
Dayton, OH. It was in Dayton, OH, that they grew up. It was in Dayton,
OH, that they had a print shop. It was in Dayton, OH, that they had the
bicycle shop that was referred to a moment ago by Senator Helms.
It was at Huffman Prairie, in Montgomery County, actually what is now
enclosed in Wright Patterson Air Force Base, technically in Greene
County, that the Wright brothers learned to fly. So, those of us from
Ohio are very proud of the Wright brothers, as this whole country is.
We are also proud in Ohio that ever since the time of the Wright
brothers, Ohio has continued to build a proud aviation history. From
the Wright brothers to World War I flying ace David Ingalls, to John
Glenn who just walked on to the floor of the Senate, the first man, the
first American to orbit the Earth, to Neil Armstrong, the first man to
walk on the Moon, to the incredible research being done right now at
NASA Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, OH, has continually been a
part of the great epic of aviation.
This is, indeed, cause for celebration, and that is what this bill is
all about. It would create a commission to coordinate the centennial of
flight celebration in the year 2003. The commission will be composed of
21 members: the Secretaries of the Interior, Transportation, and
Defense; the Director of the National Air and Space Museum; the
Administrator of NASA; two people from North Carolina; the president
and chairman of the First Flight Centennial Commission; and two people
from the State of Ohio, the Governor and the chairman of the 2003
Committee, and 12 additional Presidential appointees.
Madam President, this commission will help the United States take a
leadership role in planning international celebrations of the
centennial of flight, promoting participation and sponsorship by the
aerospace industry, the commercial aviation industry, educational
institutions, and State and local governments.
The commission is going to distribute a calendar, a register of
national and international programs and projects concerning the flight
centennial.
What I hope most of all is that these celebrations will recognize
that the history of flight is not just the story about machines or
about the triumph of technology. It is rather a story about people. It
is a story of how human creativity overcame one of the most fundamental
barriers that humans ever faced.
For hundreds of thousands of years, human beings could not fly, but
in this century, thanks to the freedom and spirit of creativity in this
country, the human race broke the bonds of Earth. So, from Dayton to
Kitty Hawk and beyond the limits of our solar system, this is a story
to truly celebrate.
Madam President, I see my distinguished senior Senator from the State
of Ohio, the honorable John Glenn, is on the floor. I yield to Senator
Glenn.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio is recognized.
Mr. GLENN. Thank you, Madam President. I thank my distinguished
colleague.
I rise as a cosponsor of this legislation to establish a national
Commission on the Centennial of Flight. We have been very proud through
the years to have worked with the people of Dayton, OH, in an effort to
recognize the very exceptional contribution of the two brothers who ran
the bicycle shop and dreamed of flight. They watched the birds and
dreamed of flight, not knowing whether it would ever be possible.
In 1992, it was my privilege to sponsor the legislation that
established the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park which
commemorates the extraordinary lives of Wilbur Wright, Orville Wright,
and Paul Lawrence Dunbar, a black man, a poet, one of the finest poets,
who was a close friend of the Wright brothers.
That park and the memorial in North Carolina recall that on December
17, 1903, Orville Wright flew 120 feet in 12 seconds. Can we imagine
that, 120 feet in 12 seconds? But it was under power. It was the
airplane that is over in the Smithsonian now. It was under powered
flight with an engine and propeller. It was the first sustained flight
in a power-driven, heavier-than-air machine.
There were three other flights that day. We don't often hear about
those. There were three other flights that day, and Wilbur Wright set a
new world record flying on one of those flights 352 feet in 59 seconds.
It was more than the length of a football field.
Very little attention was paid at that time. People were very
doubtful. Octave Chanute reported the achievement in Popular Science
Monthly in March 1904. But the first--I think this is very
interesting--the first eyewitness report about those flights appeared
in a publication called Gleanings in Bee Culture, and that was in
January 1905. That was the first real eyewitness report of Orville and
Wilbur Wright's flights.
The work had begun in 1899 with a serious study of everything the
Wrights could find on aeronautics. In 1900, to test their glider, they
selected Kitty Hawk on the word of the weather bureau because of the
steadiness of the winds and direction of the winds at that time. The
test glider in 1900 and 1901 failed to achieve the lifting power that
they thought they needed and anticipated.
They went back to Dayton and built a 6-foot wind tunnel to conduct
experiments with over 200 different wing models. They developed the
first reliable tables on the effects of air pressure on curved
surfaces, the principles that we use today and that you see on every
airplane, whether it is a general aviation small light airplane or a
giant 747 or whether it is the Concorde flying at supersonic speed
across the Atlantic Ocean.
They developed these 200 different wing models and experimented with
them. They developed the first reliable tables on the effects of air
pressure on curved surfaces.
[[Page
S11966]]
In 1902, they conducted over almost 1,000 tests with a more promising
glider. In 1903, the Wright brothers had completed the construction of
a larger plane powered by their own lightweight gas-powered engine.
Arriving in Kitty Hawk in September, storms and mechanical
difficulties delayed trials until December. On the 17th, four men and a
boy witnessed the very first flight, and a memorable photograph,
fortunately, was captured. Four men and a boy witnessed that first
flight.
Back home in Dayton in 1904 and 1905, the Wright brothers continued
testing their invention at Huffman Prairie, which is the area adjacent
to what is today Wright Patterson Air Force Base where they first
achieved maneuverable flight.
In 1908, Wilbur and Orville signed a contract with the War Department
for the first military airplane. In September, Orville circled the
parade ground at an altitude of 120 feet just across the Potomac River
from us today, over at Fort Meyer in Virginia.
When most people these days think of the Wright brothers, we tend to
think of them as having lived a long, long time ago. We tend to think
of the Wright brothers as being part of ancient history. We also think
of their airplane, the Wright Flyer III, as being an incredibly
primitive machine, at least by today's standards. And it was a
primitive machine. There were no fancy guidance systems or high-tech
controls.
By swiveling their hips from one side to the other, Orville and
Wilbur could steer the airplane. To this day, when young people come
in, when school groups come to Washington and visit my office and they
say they are going over to the Air and Space Museum, I always tell them
to get up on the gallery level and look down on the Wright brothers'
airplane and see how they controlled flight, because the person flying
lay on the lower wing and had a wooden yoke around his hips. That
wooden yoke slid back and forth and there was a wire that went to the
trailing edge of the upper wing, and they would slide in the direction
they wanted to go, slide their hips over, pull that wire and literally
warp the trailing edge of the wing down and made more lift on the wing
on that side and the airplane would turn in the direction their hips
were slid toward.
I am glad they developed later on in aviation a better means of
control. We can imagine a 747 pilot today making an approach swiveling
his hips back and forth. But that was the way the Wright brothers
controlled those very early flights.
The first flight at Kitty Hawk and Huffman Prairie seemed so far
removed from what we did later on, from my own experience in orbital
flight in 1962, or from the first lunar landing, or from living aboard
the orbiting space station for weeks on end, as Shannon Lucid did. She
was up there for 188 days. She will be honored at the Smithsonian this
evening, as a matter of fact. Yet, all this occurred within a lifetime.
I know we kid Senator Thurmond around here quite a lot about his age,
but Senator Thurmond was born December 5, 1902. The Wright brothers did
not fly until a year later, on December 7, 1903. So we have in this
body right now a man whose lifetime spans all of manned flight, powered
flight, from that first day at Kitty Hawk into space. Strom Thurmond
has witnessed the complete history of flight. And we marvel at just how
far we have come in an incredibly short period of time. We have
literally gone from the Wright brothers to the Moon and beyond in a
single lifetime.
That is amazing. In that sense, I think it is fair to say that
Orville and Wilbur Wright were our first astronauts, really, because
they were the first who really did rise off the Earth's surface in a
sustained way and make flight that then advanced to higher and higher
altitudes until we are above the Earth's atmosphere now with different
kinds of machines; though I think in some ways we could say that they
were the first two who, as the poem goes, ``slipped the surly bonds of
Earth''--slipped the surly bonds of Earth and ventured into the air
under the power of a motor.
Everything since then has just been going higher and going faster. I
also think it is fair to say the Wright brothers personified something
that is behind every single leap or advancement in science or human
knowledge since the beginning of time. The one characteristic they
had--we could lump it all together and say that is something that is in
the heart of all human progress--is curiosity and an innate curiosity
about how we can do things differently or whether we can explore and
find new shores or whether we can do experiments and do research in new
areas.
Whether you look at the voyage of Christopher Columbus, who brought
Europeans to the shore of North America, whether you look at the
experiments of Alexander Fleming--you know what Alexander Fleming was
curious about? It was plain old green mold on bread. He did not know
why the patterns formed around the mold the way they did. The green
mold, it was a particular pattern. He was curious about that.
You know what that led to? His curiosity led to the discovery of
penicillin and the development of modern antibiotics. That curiosity
about green mold on bread has led to increased life expectancy of
people all around this Earth. We have gone up in life expectancy more
in the last 100 years than in the previous 2,000 years, I read in a
magazine just a short time ago. So the discovery of penicillin and
Alexander Fleming's curiosity about green bread mold that led to that,
has really revolutionized this Earth.
Or we go ahead with the unexpected circumstance in a small electronic
switching device that led to the development of the first transistor
and ultimately to today's incredibly sophisticated computer systems.
It is clear to me that curiosity isn't what killed the cat. It is
also the goose that laid the golden egg for all of humankind. That is
going to be true in the future as well as the past. In field after
field, in discipline after discipline, in industry after industry, it
is curiosity, that insatiable, relentlessly questioning spirit that
keeps asking ``why'' that has moved our species ahead.
The irony, of course, is any time someone or a group such as the
Wright brothers, or a group of people undertake an exploration or
undertake to demonstrate a new idea, whether in a laboratory, a
spaceship, a bicycle shop or on a production line, there are many who
question the wisdom of it all. Those naysayers who wanted to know when
their bike would be fixed with the Wright brothers believed that if we
were to fly God would have given us feathers, they said.
So there was a joke about the Wright brothers at that time. ``If God
wanted us to fly, why don't we have feathers?" Well, they fortunately
laughed along with everybody else, but at the same time went ahead with
their work. They were not deterred. But if there is one thing we know
for sure about research or any kind of exploration of the unknown, it
is that it is impossible to know what we will see at the end or what it
may lead to.
I believe that today, as perhaps never before, we cannot afford to
lose that kind of curiosity and questing spirit that the Wright
brothers had. With it, we can continue to learn new things, first, for
this Nation, putting them to practical application, staying ahead of
global competition. That has been the story of this country's
advancement. Without it, we will quickly become yesterday's leader,
yesterday's leader, not tomorrow's leader but yesterday's leader,
hopelessly trying to hold back the hands of the clock and to hold on to
a past glory that can never be just retained or recaptured.
So the spirit of the Wright brothers is needed as much today as
before their very first flight. That is why today I am pleased to join
with my colleagues--my colleague from Ohio, my colleagues from North
Carolina--in introducing this legislation to establish a national
commission to assist in the commemoration of the centennial of powered
flight that will occur in 2003 and the achievements of the Wright
brothers. Those who worked to build our national parks and memorials to
the Wright brothers in Ohio and North Carolina where flight was born
and first achieved will now work together to recall and remember the
spirit of flight to be commemorated as we approach the centennial of
flight in 2003.
The spirit represented by the Wright brothers was captured in their
own day by their good friend, Paul Lawrence
[[Page
S11967]]
Dunbar, who captured in the prophetic verse which he penned the
triumphs that are remembered at the Dayton Aviation Heritage National
Historical Park. One of his notations was:
What dreams we have
and how they fly
like rosy clouds
across the sky;
of wealth, of fame
of sure success . . .
That is certainly what curiosity has brought us and what the Wright
brothers brought us.
Think of all that has occurred since that first flight at Kitty Hawk
in 1903. Think of aviation today and all it entails and the giant
industry. It has revised all the world's transportation, has revised
our military, our security. All of that stemmed from that first flight
in 1903.
So we are happy to put in this legislation today. We hope that it is
supported by all here, not just those from Ohio and North Carolina,
because what started there in 1903 is something that affects everyone.
It affects every State and every nation around the globe, even these
days. And we look forward to this commission doing a great job in
assisting in the commemoration of the centennial of powered flight and
the achievements of the Wright brothers.
Mr. FAIRCLOTH. Mr. President, today I am pleased to be an original
cosponsor of legislation being introduced by Senator Helms--the two
Senators from Ohio--that would establish a National Commission to
oversee the 100th anniversary of the first flight.
Mr. President, on a cold, windy December morning in 1903, in the
Outer Banks of North Carolina, the Wright brothers changed the history
of the world. Orville Wright flew for just 12 seconds--but it was the
first manned flight.
Today, many people take for granted what was accomplished by the
Wright brothers that day, but at the time it was a historic
achievement. Man had been thinking of flight for thousand of years--and
yet the Wright brothers, here in the United States, were the first to
do it.
The development of flight grew rapidly. A little over a decade later,
airplanes were used in the battles of World War I. Two decades after
the 12-second first flight--Charles Lindbergh flew over the Atlantic.
And of course, in 1962, in just a half century after the first 12-
second flight, our distinguished colleague John Glenn was the first man
to fly around the world in space. Seven years after that, we landed a
man on the Moon.
It is hard to believe that all of this has taken place in the span of
less than 100 years.
This is why the centennial anniversary of first flight is so
significant to us, the sponsors of this legislation.
The Commission will coordinate the plans for the celebration. The
Wright brothers were from Ohio, of course, where they ran a bicycle
shop. The State of North Carolina's license plates bear the slogan
``First in Flight''--so we are especially proud of this achievement in
my State. To these two States, the celebration is important.
But much more than that, I think the anniversary should be used to
inspire students to learn more about the history of flight. Hopefully,
it will remind people that this is a great nation inventors--and that
American ingenuity has made us the greatest country in the history of
the world. Finally, it should remind our citizens that America is a
land of opportunity and freedom--where anyone's imagination can change
the world. This is an entrepreneurial spirit that we must keep alive.
I want to thank Senator Helms and Senators Glenn and DeWine for
joining together today to introduce this legislation. I hope that the
Senate will take it up soon.
______
By Mr. THOMAS (for himself, Mr. Kerrey, Mr. Enzi, and Mr. Hagel):
S. 1398. A bill to extend certain contracts between the Bureau of
Reclamation and irrigation water contractors in Wyoming and Nebraska
that receive water from Glendo Reservoir; to the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources.
THE IRRIGATION PROJECT CONTRACT EXTENSION ACT OF 1997
Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Irrigation
Project Contract Extension Act of 1997. I am pleased to be joined in
this endeavor by Senators Enzi, Kerrey, and Hagel.
This legislation would extend, for a period of 3 years, certain water
contracts between the Bureau of Reclamation and irrigators in Wyoming
and Nebraska that receive water from Glendo Reservoir. All contracts
are subject to renewal on December 31, 1998. Extending these contracts
is considered a major Federal action and, therefore, subject to review
of the National Environmental Policy Act [NEPA] and the Endangered
Species Act [ESA]. Without a short-term continuation agreement, the
irrigators would be responsible for the costs of the analysis and other
environmental documentation.
Currently, the States of Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado--and the
Department of the Interior--are in the process of implementing a
comprehensive ``Cooperative Agreement for Platte River Research and
Other Efforts relating to Endangered Species Habitats along the Central
Platte River, Nebraska.'' The term of this initiative is for 3 years,
with an allowable 6-month extension. Upon completion of the cooperative
agreement, efforts to enact the Platte River Recovery Implementation
Program can begin. This basin wide, three-State plan will help to
recover the endangered whooping crane, piping plover, and least stern,
and improve critical habitats in the Central Platte River Basin.
I believe it is important for Congress to act on this measure and
extend these contracts for 3 years, or until the cooperative agreement
is completed. In that time, the needed NEPA and ESA reviews will be
fulfilled--clearing the way for the program to be initiated. It is
important to remember that the program cannot be implemented until the
environmental studies are completed and the parties have agreed to the
results.
Mr. President, this bill does not avoid environmental evaluation. It
merely provides some relief to the water users, while allowing the NEPA
and ESA documentation to take place through the cooperative agreement
process. It is my understanding that once this agreement has expired,
and if the Department of the Interior and the three States decide not
to pursue the program, the contract renewal process would proceed as a
separate Federal action at that time.
This is good and fair legislation. It will benefit the environment
and the water users. I look forward to working with my colleagues in
the Senate and House to secure its passage.
______
By Mr. BOND:
S. 1399. A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Army to carry out a
project to protect and enhance fish and wildlife habitat of the
Missouri River and the middle Mississippi River; to the Committee on
Environment and Public Works.
THE FISH AND WILDLIFE HABITAT ACT OF 1997
Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce legislation to
enhance, preserve and protect habitat for fish and wildlife on the
Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. This new 5-year $50 million
authorization is a win-win approach that will implement and expand the
use of new and innovative measures developed by the Corps of Engineers
to improve habitat conservation without impacting adversely private
property and other water-related needs of the rivers including
navigation, flood control and water supply.
As I have always maintained, fish and wildlife conservation and
commercial activity are not mutually exclusive. Indeed, we cannot
afford to abandon either river commerce or the species that live in and
on the river. This new approach is a win for man, for nature and for
the river.
This legislation is supported by Missouri Farm Bureau, MARC2000,
American Rivers, the Missouri Soybean Association, the Missouri
Corngrowers Association, and Farmland Industries. While these groups
have not always agreed on river policy, that should not preclude us
from seeking common ground and working together to address the
questions of resource management and I am delighted that we can all
come together in support of this commonsense approach.
Without specific authorization and only scarce dollars, the St. Louis
Corps of Engineers has been developing and
[[Page
S11968]]
testing ways in which navigation structures used to guide the river and
maintain the channel may be modified to meet environmental as well as
navigation goals. These innovations have proven successful earning wide
acclaim including a Presidential Design Award and Federal Design
Achievement Award.
This legislation seeks to put these successful innovations to work on
the Missouri River and expand their use on the middle Mississippi by
providing a specific authorization and a dedicated and substantial
source of funds. In other words, we are giving the corps the tools they
need to put their ideas to work to improve the rivers to benefit fish
and wildlife.
The legislation authorizes $10 million per year to protect, create
and enhance side channels, island habitat, sand bars, and other
riverine habitat. For example, by notching rock dikes that run
perpendicular to the shoreline, sandbars develop between the dikes
which has been provided nesting habitat for the endangered least tern
and valuable spawning ground for the endangered pallid sturgeon. The
Missouri Department of Conservation has run tests validating an
increase in diversity and numbers of microinvertebrates surrounding the
notched dikes.
Chevron dikes have been developed to improve river habitat and to
create beneficial uses of dredge material. These structures are placed
in the shallow side of the river channel pointing upstream which
improves the river channel while serving as small islands. These
islands encourage the development of all four primary river ecosystem
habitats and additionally, various micro-organisms cling to the
underwater rock structures, providing a food source for fish.
Changing the gradation of rock revetments, used to stabilize eroding
riverbanks, has proved to provide greater bank stability and precluded
the need to remove bank vegetation so that, for the first time, trees
and rock revetment could coexist providing greater habitat diversity.
The draft legislation authorizes $10 million per year over 5 years to
develop and implement a plan including the following activities:
Modification and improvement of navigation training structures to
protect and enhance fish and wildlife habitat; creation of side
channels to protect and enhance fish and wildlife habitat; restoration
and creation of island fish and wildlife habitat; creation of riverine
fish and wildlife habitat; establishment of criteria to prioritize
based on cost-effectiveness and likelihood of success; and physical and
biological monitoring for evaluating the success of the project.
The draft provides that the project be coordinated with other related
Federal and State activities and that there be public participation in
the development and implementation of the project. It requires a 25-
percent non-Federal cost share and limits the Federal cost of any
single project to $5 million. Finally, the draft legislation confers no
new regulatory authority and requires compliance with the National
Environmental Policy Act.
The legislation is designed to work between the banks of the river
and forbids expressly any adverse impacts on private lands and water-
related activities including flood control, navigation, and water
supply. Additionally, it is designed to compliment other existing
programs such as the Missouri River Mitigation project and the
Environmental Management Program on the Mississippi River.
I intend to work with the administration and with other Senators and
interested groups to build the broad support necessary to enact this
legislation in an omnibus Water Resources Development Act the Senate is
expected to consider in 1998.
Mr. President, the problems experienced in the Midwest and elsewhere
with railroad bottlenecks highlight the need for diverse transportation
options. As the fall harvest proceeds, there are reports of grain being
piled on the ground in neighboring Kansas and Nebraska. Notwithstanding
that I must continue working on behalf of Missouri to preserve river
navigation as a transportation option, our joint efforts to pursue this
new legislation is a strong indicator that we may be experiencing an
episode of domestic detente on river policy between groups that have
pursued differing approaches in the past. This legislation offers a
significant boost for our need to make the various river uses
compatible and an important step toward unifying the river's
stakeholders behind a realistic approach for the future.
I thank and congratulate the various groups who have come together
behind this legislation and look forward to enacting this consensus
legislation.
______
By Mr. BUMPERS (for himself and Mr. Gorton):
S. 1401. A bill to provide for the transition to competition around
electric energy suppliers for the benefit and protection of consumers,
and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources.
the transition to electric competition act of 1997
Mr. BUMPERS. Mr. President, I rise to day to introduce the Transition
to Electric Competition Act of 1997 along with my colleague from the
State of Washington, Senator Gorton. This bill provides for the
transition toward deregulation and competition in the electric utility
industry.
While few people find a discussion of the electric utility industry
and the many laws and regulations governing the industry exciting, the
fact is that electricity is an extremely important commodity which
affects everyone on a daily basis. Any event that increases or reduces
electric rates can impact: First, the lives of the poor and those on
fixed incomes that depend on electricity to heat their homes in the
winter and cool them in the summer; second, the price of goods we buy
every day; as well as third, the competitiveness of our factories. In
addition, decisions made by electric generators often have a direct
effect on our environment as well as our energy security.
It is not at all inconsequential that the electric utility industry,
which has remained relatively static for the last 60 years, is
undergoing a fundamental change. Instead of the traditional vertically
integrated local utility, which generates power at its own plants,
transmits that power over its own lines and sells that power to all
consumers in a particular area, consumers in some States are starting
to be bombarded with all sorts of offers from companies competing to
become their power supplier, and other entrepreneurs will be seeking to
buy large blocks of power to serve certain kinds of consumers.
Naturally, these changes are bound to create considerable apprehension
among both utilities and consumers.
Mr. President, in January I introduced
S. 237, the Electric Consumers
Protection Act, because I believed that retail electric competition was
inevitable and Federal legislation was necessary to ensure that certain
consumers were not disadvantaged in the process. Several States were
proceeding to introduce competition in their jurisdictions and a number
of others were examining the matter. Since that time I have become even
more convinced that competition is on the horizon. Eleven States have
now enacted legislation or issued regulations requiring retail
competition by a time certain. Almost every other State currently has
the matter under review.
Some argue that there is no need for the Federal Government to
intervene; that the States are doing just fine on their own and they
should decide when and how to proceed with retail electric competition.
Mr. President, I couldn't disagree more.
A State-by-State approach will likely produce a lot of unintended
consequences which will limit the benefits associated with retail
competition and could disadvantage certain consumers. Electric
generation markets are becoming increasingly regional and even multi-
regional. What happens in one State can have direct and indirect
impacts on consumers and utilities located in another State. Utilities
operating in more than one State can be subjected to conflicting
regulatory regimes which could impact the way they operate their
systems and the electric rates paid by consumers.
This phenomenon is best illustrated by the multistate utility holding
companies registered under the Public Utility Holding Company [PUHCA].
I have had a lot of experience with registered holding companies
because two of them serve my home State of Arkansas. These holding
companies generally plan for and operate generating facilities on a
system-wide basis for the benefit of customers in the entire region
[[Page
S11969]]
served by the company. If restructuring proceeds on a State-by-State
basis, these holding companies would find themselves subjected to
different requirements which could negatively impact consumers.
A State-by-State approach to retail competition also present problems
where utilities operate entirely within a single State. It would make
no sense for a utility in a State that does not require retail
competition, to be able to sell power at retail in an adjoining State
that requires retail competition, while a utility subjected to retail
competition is unable to mitigate its losses by competing for customers
in the adjoining State. Such a result both increases stranded costs and
distorts the generation marketplace.
Moreover, the States can't adequately address issues associated with
the use of transmission lines that provide for the transportation
across a number of States or the ability of a utility with significant
market power to dominate electricity generation in an entire region.
Clearly these are issues that need to be resolved at the Federal level.
When I introduced
S. 237 there weren't many calling for Federal
action. However, interested observers are increasingly coming to the
conclusion that Federal electric restructuring legislation is not only
helpful, but is necessary. Even some of the States are calling on the
Federal Government to act.
The legislation we are introducing today is an updated version of S.
237. The bill includes the following provisions: All consumers would
have the right to choose their power supplier by January 1, 2002.
States could choose an earlier date for their residents if they wish.
Utilities would be able to recover their legitimate, prudent and
verifiable costs that they would have been able to recover from
ratepayers if retail competition had not been implemented. Consumers
located in States that currently have low cost electricity would be
protected from rate increases by ensuring that utilities can't use
their existing assets to sell power in more lucrative markets to the
disadvantage of their existing customers. All utilities selling retail
power would be required to generate a portion of that power using
renewable resources. All of the interstate transmission facilities
throughout the country would be managed by independent system operators
to ensure that electricity flows in an efficient manner and that
markets are competitive. FERC would be given greater authority to
protect against the use of market power by utilities to inhibit
competition. Both the Public Utility Holding Company Act [PUHCA] and
the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act [PURPA] would be repealed in
conjunction with the implementation of retail electric competition.
In addition, Mr. President, the legislation attempts to address some
of the issues that relate to the impact of retail electric competition
on two Federal entities--the Bonneville Power Administration [BPA] and
the Tennessee Valley Authority [TVA]. Senator Gorton is especially
knowledgeable about the special problems facing BPA and I expect that
he will work closely with the other Members of the Senate from the
Pacific Northwest in developing a consensus approach.
With regard to TVA, our bill attempts to develop an approach that
will enable retail competition to be smoothly introduced in the
Tennessee Valley and will help TVA pay off its tremendous debt. The
bill also requires the TVA board to prepare a study examining whether
TVA should be privatized. I know that some observers may be concerned
that this could be a first step toward the privatization of the Federal
Power Marketing Administration [PMA's]. Mr. President, there is no
connection whatsoever between TVA and the PMA's. The PMA's market power
generated at hydroelectric facilities located at Federal dams. These
dams perform a variety of public services and cannot be privatized.
TVA, on the other hand, generates the bulk of its power from coal and
nuclear plants that serve no public purposes. In addition, the Federal
PMA's pay for themselves through power sales. TVA, on the other hand,
has an enormous level of privately held debt which it must find a way
to pay off, since the Federal Government is not responsible for it.
Mr. President, I am especially pleased that Senator Gorton has
decided to join with me in the effort to enact comprehensive electric
restructuring legislation. He has a reputation as a very bright and
thoughtful Member of this body and is a distinguished member of the
Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which has jurisdiction over the
matter. I know that he shares my desire to move this legislation
through Congress quickly next year.
Senator Murkowski, the chairman of the Senate Energy Committee,
recently indicated that he expects the committee to mark up electric
restructuring legislation next year. Both Senator Gorton and I want to
work with him and the other members of the committee in moving forward.
I look forward to undertaking this important task.
Mr. President, I want to say how honored I am to have one of our most
distinguished Senators, Senator Gorton of Washington, as my chief
cosponsor on this bill.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be
printed in the Record.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a section-by-section
analysis of the Transition to Electric Competition Act of 1997 be
printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
S. 1401
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short title. This Act may be cited as the ``Transition
to Electric Competition Act of 1997''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Severability.
Sec. 5. Enforcement.
TITLE I--RETAIL COMPETITION
Sec. 101. Mandatory retail access.
Sec. 102. Aggregation.
Sec. 103. Prior implementation.
Sec. 104. State regulation.
Sec. 105. Retail stranded cost recovery.
Sec. 106. Wholesale stranded cost recovery.
Sec. 107. Lost retail benefits.
Sec. 108. Universal service.
Sec. 109. Public benefits.
Sec. 110. Renewable energy.
Sec. 111. Determination of local distribution facilities.
Sec. 112. Transmission.
Sec. 113. Competitive generation markets.
Sec. 114. Nuclear decommissioning costs.
Sec. 115. Right to know.
Sec. 116. Exemption of Alaska and Hawaii.
TITLE II--PUBLIC UTILITY HOLDING COMPANIES
Sec. 201. Repeal of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935.
Sec. 202. Exemptions.
Sec. 203. Federal access to books and records.
Sec. 204. State access to books and records.
Sec. 205. Affiliate transactions.
Sec. 206. Clarification of regulatory authority.
Sec. 207. Effect on other regulation.
Sec. 208. Enforcement.
Sec. 209. Savings provision.
Sec. 210. Implementation.
Sec. 211. Resources.
TITLE III--PUBLIC UTILITY REGULATORY POLICIES ACT
Sec. 301. Definition.
Sec. 302. Facilities.
Sec. 303. Contracts.
Sec. 304. Savings clause.
Sec. 305. Effective date.
TITLE IV--ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Sec. 401. Study.
TITLE V--BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION
Sec. 501. Findings and purposes.
Sec. 502. Columbia River fish and wildlife coordination and governance.
Sec. 503. Pacific Northwest federal transmission access.
Sec. 504. Transition cost mechanism.
Sec. 505. Independent system operator participation.
Sec. 506. Financial obligations.
Sec. 507. Prohibition on retail sales.
Sec. 508. Clarification of Commission authority.
Sec. 509. Repealed statute.
TITLE VI--TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY
Sec. 601. Competition in service territory.
Sec. 602. Ability to sell electric energy.
Sec. 603. Termination of contracts.
Sec. 604. Rates for electric energy.
Sec. 605. Privatization study.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that:
(a) Congress has the authority to enact laws, under the
Commerce Clause of the
[[Page
S11970]]
United States Constitution, regarding the wholesale and
retail generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of
electric energy in interstate commerce.
(b) Several States have taken steps to require competition
among retail electric supplies and a large number of other
States are expected to act.
(c) It has been the policy of Congress and the Commission
to promote competition among wholesale electric suppliers.
(d) It is in the public interest that the transition
towards competition in electric service ensures that all
consumers receive reliable and competitively-priced electric
service.
(e) Electric utility companies that prudently incurred
costs pursuant to a regulatory structure that required them
to provide electricity to consumers should not be penalized
during the transition to competition.
(f) Consumers will not benefit from the introduction of
competition among electric energy suppliers if certain
suppliers have undue market power.
(g) It is important to encourage conservation and the use
of renewable resources to reduce reliance on fossil fuels,
promote domestic energy security and protect the environment.
(h) Competition among electric energy suppliers should not
degrade reliability nor cause consumers to lose electric
service.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(a) The term ``affiliate'' of a specific company means any
company 5 percent or more of whose outstanding voting
securities are owned, controlled, or held with power to vote,
directly or indirectly, by such specific company.
(b) The term ``aggregator'' means any person that purchases
or acquires retail electric energy on behalf of two or more
consumers.
(c) The term ``ancillary services'' shall have the same
meaning assigned to it by the Commission.
(d) The term ``associate company'' of a company means any
company in the same holding company system with such company.
(e) The term ``Commission'' means the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission.
(f) The term ``company'' means a corporation, joint stock
company, partnership, association, business trust, organized
group of persons, whether incorporated or not, or a receiver
or receivers, trustee or trustees of any of the foregoing.
(g) The term ``corporation'' means any corporation, joint-
stock company, partnership, association, rural electric
cooperative, municipal utility, business trust, organized
group of persons, whether incorporated or not, or a receiver
or receivers, trustee or trustees of any of the foregoing.
(h) The term ``electric utility company'' means any company
that owns or operates facilities used for the generation,
transmission or distribution of electric energy for sale.
(i) The term ``gas utility company'' means any company that
owns or operates facilities used for distribution at retail
(other than the distribution only in enclosed portable
containers) of natural or manufactured gas for heat, light or
power.
(j) The term ``holding company system'' means a holding
company together with its subsidiary companies.
(k) The term ``large hydroelectric facility'' means a
facility which has a power production capacity which,
together with any other facilities located at the same site,
is greater than 80 megawatts.
(l) The term ``local distribution facilities'' means
facilities used to provide retail electric energy for
ultimate consumption.
(m) The term ``lost retail benefits'' means the increased
cost of retail electric energy in a retail electric energy
provider's service territory resulting from the sale
subsequent to the implementation of retail electric
competition, outside such service territory, of electric
energy generated at facilities the cost of which were
included in the retail rate base of the retail electric
energy provider prior to the implementation of retail
electric competition.
(n) The term ``mitigation'' means any widely accepted
business practice used by an electric utility company to
dispose of or reduce uneconomic assets or costs.
(o) The term ``municipal utility'' means a city, county,
irrigation district, drainage district, or other political
subdivision or agency of a State competent under the laws
thereof to carry on the business of a retail electric energy
provider and/or a retail electric energy supplier.
(p) The term ``person'' means an individual or corporation.
(q) The term ``public utility company'' means an electric
utility company or gas utility company but does not mean a
qualifying facility as defined in the Public Utility
Regulatory Policies Act, or an exempt wholesale generator or
a foreign utility company defined in the Energy Policy Act of
1992.
(r) The term ``public utility holding company'' means (A)
any company that directly or indirectly owns, controls, or
holds with power to vote, 10 percent or more of the
outstanding voting securities of a public utility company or
of a holding company of any public utility company; and (B)
any person, determined by the Securities and Exchange
Commission, after notice and opportunity for hearing, to
exercise directly or indirectly (either alone or pursuant to
an arrangement or understanding with one or more persons)
such a controlling influence over the management or policies
of any public utility or holding company as to make it
necessary or appropriate for the protection of consumers with
respect to rates that such person be subject to the
obligations, duties, and liabilities imposed in this title
upon holding companies.
(s) The term ``renewable energy'' means electricity
generated from solar, wind, waste, including municipal solid
waste, biomass, hydroelectric or geothermal resources.
(t) The term ``Renewable Energy Credit'' means a tradable
certificate of proof that one unit (as determined by the
Commission) of renewable energy was generated by any person.
(u) The term ``retail electric competition'' means the
ability of each consumer in a particular State to purchase
retail electric energy from any person seeking to sell
electric energy to such consumer.
(v) The term ``retail electric energy'' means electric
energy and ancillary services sold for ultimate consumption.
(w) The term ``retail electric energy provider'' means any
person who distributes retail electric energy to consumers
regardless of whether the consumers purchase such energy from
the provider or an alternative supplier. A retail electric
energy provider may also be a retail electric energy
supplier.
(x) The term ``retail electric energy supplier'' means any
person which sells retail electric energy to consumers.
(y) The term ``retail stranded costs'' means all
legitimate, prudent, verifiable and non-mitigatable costs
incurred by an electric utility company in all of its
generation assets which would have been recoverable in retail
rates but for the implementation of retail electric
competition, less the total market value of these assets
after retail electric competition is implemented. Binding
power purchase contracts and regulatory assets, the costs of
which would have been recovered but for the implementation of
retail electric competition, shall be considered generation
assets for purposes of this subsection.
(z) The term ``rural electric cooperative'' means a
corporation that is currently paying off a loan for the
purposes of providing electric service from the Administrator
of the Rural Electrification Administration or the Rural
Utilities Service under the Rural Electrification Act of
1936.
(aa) The term ``State'' means any State or the District of
Columbia.
(bb) The term ``State regulatory authority'' means the
regulatory body of a State or municipality having sole
jurisdiction to regulate rates and charges for the
distribution of electric energy to consumers within the State
or municipality.
(cc) The term ``subsidiary company'' of a holding company
means--
(1) any company 10 percent or more of the outstanding
voting securities of which are directly or indirectly owned,
controlled, or held with power to vote, by such holding
company; and
(2) any person the management or policies of which the
Securities and Exchange Commission, after notice and
opportunity for hearing, determines to be subject to a
controlling influence, directly or indirectly, by such
holding company (either alone or pursuant to an arrangement
or understanding with one or more other persons) so as to
make it necessary for the protection of consumers that such
person be subject to the obligations, duties, and liabilities
imposed upon subsidiary companies of public utility holding
companies.
(dd) The term ``transmission system'' means all facilities,
including federally-owned facilities, transmitting
electricity in interstate commerce in a particular region,
including all facilities transmitting electricity in the
State of Texas and those providing international
interconnections, but does not include local distribution
facilities as determined by the Commission.
(ee) The term ``wholesale electric energy'' means electric
energy and ancillary services sold for resale.
(ff) The term ``wholesale electric energy supplier'' means
any person which sells wholesale electric energy.
(gg) The term ``wholesale stranded costs'' shall have the
same meaning as in the Commission's Order No. 888.
(hh) The term ``voting security'' means any security
presently entitling the owner or holder thereof to vote in
the direction or management of the affairs of a company.
SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act, or the application of such
provision to any person or circumstance, shall be held
invalid, the remainder of the Act, and the application of
such provision to persons or circumstances other than those
as to which it is held invalid, shall not be affected
thereby.
SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Violation of the Act.--If any individual or corporation
or any other retail electric energy supplier or provider
fails to comply with the requirements of this Act, any
aggrieved person may bring an action against such entity to
enforce the requirements of this Act in the appropriate
Federal district court.
(b) State or Commission Action.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, any person seeking redress from an action
taken by a State regulatory authority, the Commission or a
regulatory board pursuant to this Act shall bring such action
in the appropriate circuit of the United States Court of
Appeals.
[[Page
S11971]]
TITLE I--ELECTRIC COMPETITION
SEC. 101. MANDATORY RETAIL ACCESS.
(a) Customer Choice.--Beginning on January 1, 2002, each
consumer shall have the right to purchase retail electric
energy from any person offering to sell retail electric
energy to such consumer, subject to any limitations imposed
pursuant to section 104(a) of this Act.
(b) Local Distribution and Retail Transmission
Facilities.--Beginning on January 1, 2002, all persons
seeking to sell retail electric energy shall have reasonable
and nondiscriminatory access, on an unbundled basis, to the
local distribution and retail transmission facilities of all
retail electric energy providers and all ancillary
services.
SEC. 102. AGGREGATION.
Subject to any limitations imposed pursuant to section
104(a) of this Act, a group of consumers or any person acting
on behalf of such group may purchase or acquire retail
electric energy for the members of the group if they are
located in a State or States where there is retail electric
competition.
SEC. 103. PRIOR IMPLEMENTATION.
(a) State Action.--Nothing in the Federal Power Act (16
U.S.C. 824 et seq.) shall be deemed to prohibit a State or
State regulatory authority, if authorized under State law,
from requiring retail electric energy providers selling
retail electric energy to consumers in such State to provide
reasonable and nondiscriminatory access, on an unbundled
basis, to its local distribution facilities and all ancillary
services to any retail electric energy supplier prior to
January 1, 2002.
(b) Grandfather.--Legislation enacted by a State or a
regulation issued by a State regulatory authority which has
the effect of providing all consumers in such State the
opportunity to purchase retail electric energy from any
retail electric energy supplier by January 1, 2002 and
provides electric utility companies with the opportunity to
recover their retail stranded costs as defined by this Act
(unless there is an agreement between a State or State
regulatory authority and a retail electric energy provider
which provides for a different level of recovery), shall be
deemed to be in compliance with the requirements of sections
101 and 105 of this Act.
(c) Reciprocity.--A State or State regulatory authority
that provides for retail electric competition may preclude
any retail electric energy provider selling retail electric
energy to consumers in another State and their affiliates
from selling retail electric energy to consumers in the State
with retail electric competition if the retail electric
energy provider does not provide reasonable and
nondiscriminatory access, on an unbundled basis, to its local
distribution facilities to any retail electric energy
supplier.
SEC. 104. STATE REGULATION.
(a) State Requirements.--A State or a State regulatory
authority may impose requirements on persons seeking to sell
retail electric energy to consumers in that State which are
intended to promote the public interest, including
requirements related to generation reliability and the
provision of information to consumers and other retail
electric energy suppliers. Any such requirements must be
applied on a nondiscriminatory basis and may not be used to
exclude any class of potential suppliers, such as retail
electric energy providers, from the opportunity to sell
retail electric energy.
(b) Maintenance of State Authority.--Nothing in this Act is
intended to prohibit a State from enacting laws or imposing
regulations related to retail electric energy service that
are consistent with the requirements of this Act.
(c) Continued State Authority Over Distribution.--A State
or State regulatory authority may continue to regulate local
distribution service currently subject to State regulation,
including billing and metering in any manner consistent with
this Act.
SEC. 105. RETAIL STRANDED COST RECOVERY.
(a) Application for Deter
Major Actions:
All articles in Senate section
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
(Senate - November 07, 1997)
Text of this article available as:
TXT
PDF
[Pages
S11964-S12022]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. HELMS (for himself, Mr. Glenn, Mr. DeWine, and Mr.
Faircloth):
S. 1397. A bill to establish a commission to assist in commemoration
of the centennial of powered flight and the achievements of the Wright
brothers; to the Committee on Governmental Affairs.
the centennial of flight commemorative act
Mr. HELMS. Madam President, I have a bill,
S. 1397, at the desk. Now,
Senators DeWine, Faircloth, Glenn, and I are introducing this
legislation, and we are naming it the Centennial of Flight
Commemorative Act. As I indicated, the bill number is
S. 1397.
This significant legislation will establish a commission to assist
the numerous events that will lead up to and include the celebration of
the 100th anniversary of powered flight, a feat in all the history
books, accomplished in my State of North Carolina by the geniuses, two
brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright, Ohio brothers who were born and
raised in Dayton where they operated a bicycle shop.
I don't know whether you have been to Kitty Hawk, particularly in the
middle of December, but it is not a comfortable place to be. Wilbur and
Orville came to the Outer Banks of North Carolina to conduct their
experiments. The first powered flight occurred at Kitty Hawk, NC, on
December 17, 1903. In fact, the Wright brothers engaged in four flights
that day, and with their effort they changed the concept of travel
forever.
About noon on that cold and windy December day, at Kitty Hawk, NC,
the aviation age, the air age, began.
So, Madam President, the Wright brothers were indisputably the first
pioneers of powered flight, and they became national heroes,
justifiably etched in history.
As for our bill,
S. 1397, the able Senator from Ohio, Mr. DeWine, and
the able Senator from Ohio, Mr. Glenn, did excellent work in drafting
this legislation.
Senator Glenn, I am obliged to mention, and I am glad to do so, is a
man of history himself in terms of powered flight. He was the first
American, as all of us know, to orbit the Earth. When he walks up and
down the corridors, I see mamas and daddies pointing to him saying,
``That's Senator Glenn.'' Senator Glenn and six other pioneers, the
Mercury astronauts, got America's space program off the ground.
Madam President,
S. 1397--let me say the title again so it will
register--the Centennial of Flight Commemorative Act--proposes the
establishment of a commission of 21 individuals to plan for and assist
in events leading up to and including the commemoration of the 100th
anniversary of the Wright brothers' flights at Kitty Hawk. The
commission will be composed of the Secretary of the Interior, the
Director of the National Air and Space Museum, the Secretary of
Defense, the Secretary of Transportation, the NASA Administrator, and
each of these officials can name a designee. Then there will be two
representatives each from the States of North Carolina and Ohio and 12
other private citizens.
Of these 12 private citizens, the President of the United States will
appoint two from a list recommended by the Senate majority leader in
consultation with the Senate minority leader, and two from a list
recommended by the Speaker of the House in consultation with the House
minority leader. The remaining eight will be chosen based on
qualifications and/or experience in the fields of history, aerospace,
science, industry, or other professions that will enhance the work of
the commission.
The commission will represent the United States and take a leadership
role with other nations in recognizing the achievement of the Wright
brothers and the importance of aviation history.
The commission's activities will be closely coordinated with the
First Flight Centennial Commission and the First Flight Centennial
Foundation of North Carolina and the 2003 Committee of the State of
Ohio. The commission is allowed to retain an executive director and
staff that may be required in order to carry out its functions.
S. 1397 authorizes appropriations of $250,000 for each of the fiscal
years 1998 to 2004 to fund the work of the commission.
Additionally, the commission may accept monetary contributions and
other in kind contributions, volunteer
[[Page
S11965]]
services and the like. In order to further defray the expenses of the
commission, the legislation gives it exclusive right to names, logos,
emblems, seals, and marks, which may be licensed on which proceeds from
royalties will be used to offset the operating costs of the commission.
S. 1397 requires that annual audits of the commission be conducted by
the Inspector General of the General Services Administration to ensure
its financial integrity.
The commission shall be terminated no later than 60 days after the
submission of the final audit report.
Senators may ask why establish a Federal commission to commemorate
this event? The Wright brothers' triumph at Kitty Hawk on that bone-
chilling day of December 17, 1903 has to rank as one of mankind's
greatest achievement. The world has not been the same since.
As the development of the airplane progressed so did its uses in
warfare and civilian aviation. Its development spawned generations of
aviation trailblazers. Names like Eddie Rickenbacker, Billy Mitchell,
Charles Lindbergh, Jimmy Doolittle, Chuck Yeager, and the Mercury,
Gemini, Apollo, and space shuttle astronauts became household words.
What is even more astonishing is that 66 years later, Neil Armstrong
of Ohio became the first man to set foot on the moon. That would not
have been possible without the Wright brothers.
Because of the Wright brothers you can get on a jet aircraft at
Dulles Airport and be in London in six or seven hours, far less if you
are flying the Concorde. You can fly from New York to Tokyo in 14
hours. On the Concorde, you can travel from New York to London in 3
hours and 50 minutes.
We are seeing daily developments in aviation, faster planes, new
space technologies, all because of the genius of Wilbur and Orville
Wright.
I hope the Senate will swiftly approve this legislation.
Mr. DeWINE. Madam President, I thank the Chair, and I thank my
distinguished colleague from North Carolina.
I am delighted to join him, as well as Senator Faircloth and Senator
Glenn, in introducing a bill to create the Centennial of Flight
Commission.
In the year 2003, the United States and, indeed, the world will
celebrate a truly breathtaking anniversary. That date will mark exactly
100 years of the adventure of human flight. For those of us who are
from the State of Ohio, it is an especially important anniversary as
Senator Helms has so ably described--first and foremost because the
Wright brothers, the very first pioneers of powered flight, were from
Dayton, OH. It was in Dayton, OH, that they grew up. It was in Dayton,
OH, that they had a print shop. It was in Dayton, OH, that they had the
bicycle shop that was referred to a moment ago by Senator Helms.
It was at Huffman Prairie, in Montgomery County, actually what is now
enclosed in Wright Patterson Air Force Base, technically in Greene
County, that the Wright brothers learned to fly. So, those of us from
Ohio are very proud of the Wright brothers, as this whole country is.
We are also proud in Ohio that ever since the time of the Wright
brothers, Ohio has continued to build a proud aviation history. From
the Wright brothers to World War I flying ace David Ingalls, to John
Glenn who just walked on to the floor of the Senate, the first man, the
first American to orbit the Earth, to Neil Armstrong, the first man to
walk on the Moon, to the incredible research being done right now at
NASA Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, OH, has continually been a
part of the great epic of aviation.
This is, indeed, cause for celebration, and that is what this bill is
all about. It would create a commission to coordinate the centennial of
flight celebration in the year 2003. The commission will be composed of
21 members: the Secretaries of the Interior, Transportation, and
Defense; the Director of the National Air and Space Museum; the
Administrator of NASA; two people from North Carolina; the president
and chairman of the First Flight Centennial Commission; and two people
from the State of Ohio, the Governor and the chairman of the 2003
Committee, and 12 additional Presidential appointees.
Madam President, this commission will help the United States take a
leadership role in planning international celebrations of the
centennial of flight, promoting participation and sponsorship by the
aerospace industry, the commercial aviation industry, educational
institutions, and State and local governments.
The commission is going to distribute a calendar, a register of
national and international programs and projects concerning the flight
centennial.
What I hope most of all is that these celebrations will recognize
that the history of flight is not just the story about machines or
about the triumph of technology. It is rather a story about people. It
is a story of how human creativity overcame one of the most fundamental
barriers that humans ever faced.
For hundreds of thousands of years, human beings could not fly, but
in this century, thanks to the freedom and spirit of creativity in this
country, the human race broke the bonds of Earth. So, from Dayton to
Kitty Hawk and beyond the limits of our solar system, this is a story
to truly celebrate.
Madam President, I see my distinguished senior Senator from the State
of Ohio, the honorable John Glenn, is on the floor. I yield to Senator
Glenn.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio is recognized.
Mr. GLENN. Thank you, Madam President. I thank my distinguished
colleague.
I rise as a cosponsor of this legislation to establish a national
Commission on the Centennial of Flight. We have been very proud through
the years to have worked with the people of Dayton, OH, in an effort to
recognize the very exceptional contribution of the two brothers who ran
the bicycle shop and dreamed of flight. They watched the birds and
dreamed of flight, not knowing whether it would ever be possible.
In 1992, it was my privilege to sponsor the legislation that
established the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park which
commemorates the extraordinary lives of Wilbur Wright, Orville Wright,
and Paul Lawrence Dunbar, a black man, a poet, one of the finest poets,
who was a close friend of the Wright brothers.
That park and the memorial in North Carolina recall that on December
17, 1903, Orville Wright flew 120 feet in 12 seconds. Can we imagine
that, 120 feet in 12 seconds? But it was under power. It was the
airplane that is over in the Smithsonian now. It was under powered
flight with an engine and propeller. It was the first sustained flight
in a power-driven, heavier-than-air machine.
There were three other flights that day. We don't often hear about
those. There were three other flights that day, and Wilbur Wright set a
new world record flying on one of those flights 352 feet in 59 seconds.
It was more than the length of a football field.
Very little attention was paid at that time. People were very
doubtful. Octave Chanute reported the achievement in Popular Science
Monthly in March 1904. But the first--I think this is very
interesting--the first eyewitness report about those flights appeared
in a publication called Gleanings in Bee Culture, and that was in
January 1905. That was the first real eyewitness report of Orville and
Wilbur Wright's flights.
The work had begun in 1899 with a serious study of everything the
Wrights could find on aeronautics. In 1900, to test their glider, they
selected Kitty Hawk on the word of the weather bureau because of the
steadiness of the winds and direction of the winds at that time. The
test glider in 1900 and 1901 failed to achieve the lifting power that
they thought they needed and anticipated.
They went back to Dayton and built a 6-foot wind tunnel to conduct
experiments with over 200 different wing models. They developed the
first reliable tables on the effects of air pressure on curved
surfaces, the principles that we use today and that you see on every
airplane, whether it is a general aviation small light airplane or a
giant 747 or whether it is the Concorde flying at supersonic speed
across the Atlantic Ocean.
They developed these 200 different wing models and experimented with
them. They developed the first reliable tables on the effects of air
pressure on curved surfaces.
[[Page
S11966]]
In 1902, they conducted over almost 1,000 tests with a more promising
glider. In 1903, the Wright brothers had completed the construction of
a larger plane powered by their own lightweight gas-powered engine.
Arriving in Kitty Hawk in September, storms and mechanical
difficulties delayed trials until December. On the 17th, four men and a
boy witnessed the very first flight, and a memorable photograph,
fortunately, was captured. Four men and a boy witnessed that first
flight.
Back home in Dayton in 1904 and 1905, the Wright brothers continued
testing their invention at Huffman Prairie, which is the area adjacent
to what is today Wright Patterson Air Force Base where they first
achieved maneuverable flight.
In 1908, Wilbur and Orville signed a contract with the War Department
for the first military airplane. In September, Orville circled the
parade ground at an altitude of 120 feet just across the Potomac River
from us today, over at Fort Meyer in Virginia.
When most people these days think of the Wright brothers, we tend to
think of them as having lived a long, long time ago. We tend to think
of the Wright brothers as being part of ancient history. We also think
of their airplane, the Wright Flyer III, as being an incredibly
primitive machine, at least by today's standards. And it was a
primitive machine. There were no fancy guidance systems or high-tech
controls.
By swiveling their hips from one side to the other, Orville and
Wilbur could steer the airplane. To this day, when young people come
in, when school groups come to Washington and visit my office and they
say they are going over to the Air and Space Museum, I always tell them
to get up on the gallery level and look down on the Wright brothers'
airplane and see how they controlled flight, because the person flying
lay on the lower wing and had a wooden yoke around his hips. That
wooden yoke slid back and forth and there was a wire that went to the
trailing edge of the upper wing, and they would slide in the direction
they wanted to go, slide their hips over, pull that wire and literally
warp the trailing edge of the wing down and made more lift on the wing
on that side and the airplane would turn in the direction their hips
were slid toward.
I am glad they developed later on in aviation a better means of
control. We can imagine a 747 pilot today making an approach swiveling
his hips back and forth. But that was the way the Wright brothers
controlled those very early flights.
The first flight at Kitty Hawk and Huffman Prairie seemed so far
removed from what we did later on, from my own experience in orbital
flight in 1962, or from the first lunar landing, or from living aboard
the orbiting space station for weeks on end, as Shannon Lucid did. She
was up there for 188 days. She will be honored at the Smithsonian this
evening, as a matter of fact. Yet, all this occurred within a lifetime.
I know we kid Senator Thurmond around here quite a lot about his age,
but Senator Thurmond was born December 5, 1902. The Wright brothers did
not fly until a year later, on December 7, 1903. So we have in this
body right now a man whose lifetime spans all of manned flight, powered
flight, from that first day at Kitty Hawk into space. Strom Thurmond
has witnessed the complete history of flight. And we marvel at just how
far we have come in an incredibly short period of time. We have
literally gone from the Wright brothers to the Moon and beyond in a
single lifetime.
That is amazing. In that sense, I think it is fair to say that
Orville and Wilbur Wright were our first astronauts, really, because
they were the first who really did rise off the Earth's surface in a
sustained way and make flight that then advanced to higher and higher
altitudes until we are above the Earth's atmosphere now with different
kinds of machines; though I think in some ways we could say that they
were the first two who, as the poem goes, ``slipped the surly bonds of
Earth''--slipped the surly bonds of Earth and ventured into the air
under the power of a motor.
Everything since then has just been going higher and going faster. I
also think it is fair to say the Wright brothers personified something
that is behind every single leap or advancement in science or human
knowledge since the beginning of time. The one characteristic they
had--we could lump it all together and say that is something that is in
the heart of all human progress--is curiosity and an innate curiosity
about how we can do things differently or whether we can explore and
find new shores or whether we can do experiments and do research in new
areas.
Whether you look at the voyage of Christopher Columbus, who brought
Europeans to the shore of North America, whether you look at the
experiments of Alexander Fleming--you know what Alexander Fleming was
curious about? It was plain old green mold on bread. He did not know
why the patterns formed around the mold the way they did. The green
mold, it was a particular pattern. He was curious about that.
You know what that led to? His curiosity led to the discovery of
penicillin and the development of modern antibiotics. That curiosity
about green mold on bread has led to increased life expectancy of
people all around this Earth. We have gone up in life expectancy more
in the last 100 years than in the previous 2,000 years, I read in a
magazine just a short time ago. So the discovery of penicillin and
Alexander Fleming's curiosity about green bread mold that led to that,
has really revolutionized this Earth.
Or we go ahead with the unexpected circumstance in a small electronic
switching device that led to the development of the first transistor
and ultimately to today's incredibly sophisticated computer systems.
It is clear to me that curiosity isn't what killed the cat. It is
also the goose that laid the golden egg for all of humankind. That is
going to be true in the future as well as the past. In field after
field, in discipline after discipline, in industry after industry, it
is curiosity, that insatiable, relentlessly questioning spirit that
keeps asking ``why'' that has moved our species ahead.
The irony, of course, is any time someone or a group such as the
Wright brothers, or a group of people undertake an exploration or
undertake to demonstrate a new idea, whether in a laboratory, a
spaceship, a bicycle shop or on a production line, there are many who
question the wisdom of it all. Those naysayers who wanted to know when
their bike would be fixed with the Wright brothers believed that if we
were to fly God would have given us feathers, they said.
So there was a joke about the Wright brothers at that time. ``If God
wanted us to fly, why don't we have feathers?" Well, they fortunately
laughed along with everybody else, but at the same time went ahead with
their work. They were not deterred. But if there is one thing we know
for sure about research or any kind of exploration of the unknown, it
is that it is impossible to know what we will see at the end or what it
may lead to.
I believe that today, as perhaps never before, we cannot afford to
lose that kind of curiosity and questing spirit that the Wright
brothers had. With it, we can continue to learn new things, first, for
this Nation, putting them to practical application, staying ahead of
global competition. That has been the story of this country's
advancement. Without it, we will quickly become yesterday's leader,
yesterday's leader, not tomorrow's leader but yesterday's leader,
hopelessly trying to hold back the hands of the clock and to hold on to
a past glory that can never be just retained or recaptured.
So the spirit of the Wright brothers is needed as much today as
before their very first flight. That is why today I am pleased to join
with my colleagues--my colleague from Ohio, my colleagues from North
Carolina--in introducing this legislation to establish a national
commission to assist in the commemoration of the centennial of powered
flight that will occur in 2003 and the achievements of the Wright
brothers. Those who worked to build our national parks and memorials to
the Wright brothers in Ohio and North Carolina where flight was born
and first achieved will now work together to recall and remember the
spirit of flight to be commemorated as we approach the centennial of
flight in 2003.
The spirit represented by the Wright brothers was captured in their
own day by their good friend, Paul Lawrence
[[Page
S11967]]
Dunbar, who captured in the prophetic verse which he penned the
triumphs that are remembered at the Dayton Aviation Heritage National
Historical Park. One of his notations was:
What dreams we have
and how they fly
like rosy clouds
across the sky;
of wealth, of fame
of sure success . . .
That is certainly what curiosity has brought us and what the Wright
brothers brought us.
Think of all that has occurred since that first flight at Kitty Hawk
in 1903. Think of aviation today and all it entails and the giant
industry. It has revised all the world's transportation, has revised
our military, our security. All of that stemmed from that first flight
in 1903.
So we are happy to put in this legislation today. We hope that it is
supported by all here, not just those from Ohio and North Carolina,
because what started there in 1903 is something that affects everyone.
It affects every State and every nation around the globe, even these
days. And we look forward to this commission doing a great job in
assisting in the commemoration of the centennial of powered flight and
the achievements of the Wright brothers.
Mr. FAIRCLOTH. Mr. President, today I am pleased to be an original
cosponsor of legislation being introduced by Senator Helms--the two
Senators from Ohio--that would establish a National Commission to
oversee the 100th anniversary of the first flight.
Mr. President, on a cold, windy December morning in 1903, in the
Outer Banks of North Carolina, the Wright brothers changed the history
of the world. Orville Wright flew for just 12 seconds--but it was the
first manned flight.
Today, many people take for granted what was accomplished by the
Wright brothers that day, but at the time it was a historic
achievement. Man had been thinking of flight for thousand of years--and
yet the Wright brothers, here in the United States, were the first to
do it.
The development of flight grew rapidly. A little over a decade later,
airplanes were used in the battles of World War I. Two decades after
the 12-second first flight--Charles Lindbergh flew over the Atlantic.
And of course, in 1962, in just a half century after the first 12-
second flight, our distinguished colleague John Glenn was the first man
to fly around the world in space. Seven years after that, we landed a
man on the Moon.
It is hard to believe that all of this has taken place in the span of
less than 100 years.
This is why the centennial anniversary of first flight is so
significant to us, the sponsors of this legislation.
The Commission will coordinate the plans for the celebration. The
Wright brothers were from Ohio, of course, where they ran a bicycle
shop. The State of North Carolina's license plates bear the slogan
``First in Flight''--so we are especially proud of this achievement in
my State. To these two States, the celebration is important.
But much more than that, I think the anniversary should be used to
inspire students to learn more about the history of flight. Hopefully,
it will remind people that this is a great nation inventors--and that
American ingenuity has made us the greatest country in the history of
the world. Finally, it should remind our citizens that America is a
land of opportunity and freedom--where anyone's imagination can change
the world. This is an entrepreneurial spirit that we must keep alive.
I want to thank Senator Helms and Senators Glenn and DeWine for
joining together today to introduce this legislation. I hope that the
Senate will take it up soon.
______
By Mr. THOMAS (for himself, Mr. Kerrey, Mr. Enzi, and Mr. Hagel):
S. 1398. A bill to extend certain contracts between the Bureau of
Reclamation and irrigation water contractors in Wyoming and Nebraska
that receive water from Glendo Reservoir; to the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources.
THE IRRIGATION PROJECT CONTRACT EXTENSION ACT OF 1997
Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Irrigation
Project Contract Extension Act of 1997. I am pleased to be joined in
this endeavor by Senators Enzi, Kerrey, and Hagel.
This legislation would extend, for a period of 3 years, certain water
contracts between the Bureau of Reclamation and irrigators in Wyoming
and Nebraska that receive water from Glendo Reservoir. All contracts
are subject to renewal on December 31, 1998. Extending these contracts
is considered a major Federal action and, therefore, subject to review
of the National Environmental Policy Act [NEPA] and the Endangered
Species Act [ESA]. Without a short-term continuation agreement, the
irrigators would be responsible for the costs of the analysis and other
environmental documentation.
Currently, the States of Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado--and the
Department of the Interior--are in the process of implementing a
comprehensive ``Cooperative Agreement for Platte River Research and
Other Efforts relating to Endangered Species Habitats along the Central
Platte River, Nebraska.'' The term of this initiative is for 3 years,
with an allowable 6-month extension. Upon completion of the cooperative
agreement, efforts to enact the Platte River Recovery Implementation
Program can begin. This basin wide, three-State plan will help to
recover the endangered whooping crane, piping plover, and least stern,
and improve critical habitats in the Central Platte River Basin.
I believe it is important for Congress to act on this measure and
extend these contracts for 3 years, or until the cooperative agreement
is completed. In that time, the needed NEPA and ESA reviews will be
fulfilled--clearing the way for the program to be initiated. It is
important to remember that the program cannot be implemented until the
environmental studies are completed and the parties have agreed to the
results.
Mr. President, this bill does not avoid environmental evaluation. It
merely provides some relief to the water users, while allowing the NEPA
and ESA documentation to take place through the cooperative agreement
process. It is my understanding that once this agreement has expired,
and if the Department of the Interior and the three States decide not
to pursue the program, the contract renewal process would proceed as a
separate Federal action at that time.
This is good and fair legislation. It will benefit the environment
and the water users. I look forward to working with my colleagues in
the Senate and House to secure its passage.
______
By Mr. BOND:
S. 1399. A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Army to carry out a
project to protect and enhance fish and wildlife habitat of the
Missouri River and the middle Mississippi River; to the Committee on
Environment and Public Works.
THE FISH AND WILDLIFE HABITAT ACT OF 1997
Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce legislation to
enhance, preserve and protect habitat for fish and wildlife on the
Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. This new 5-year $50 million
authorization is a win-win approach that will implement and expand the
use of new and innovative measures developed by the Corps of Engineers
to improve habitat conservation without impacting adversely private
property and other water-related needs of the rivers including
navigation, flood control and water supply.
As I have always maintained, fish and wildlife conservation and
commercial activity are not mutually exclusive. Indeed, we cannot
afford to abandon either river commerce or the species that live in and
on the river. This new approach is a win for man, for nature and for
the river.
This legislation is supported by Missouri Farm Bureau, MARC2000,
American Rivers, the Missouri Soybean Association, the Missouri
Corngrowers Association, and Farmland Industries. While these groups
have not always agreed on river policy, that should not preclude us
from seeking common ground and working together to address the
questions of resource management and I am delighted that we can all
come together in support of this commonsense approach.
Without specific authorization and only scarce dollars, the St. Louis
Corps of Engineers has been developing and
[[Page
S11968]]
testing ways in which navigation structures used to guide the river and
maintain the channel may be modified to meet environmental as well as
navigation goals. These innovations have proven successful earning wide
acclaim including a Presidential Design Award and Federal Design
Achievement Award.
This legislation seeks to put these successful innovations to work on
the Missouri River and expand their use on the middle Mississippi by
providing a specific authorization and a dedicated and substantial
source of funds. In other words, we are giving the corps the tools they
need to put their ideas to work to improve the rivers to benefit fish
and wildlife.
The legislation authorizes $10 million per year to protect, create
and enhance side channels, island habitat, sand bars, and other
riverine habitat. For example, by notching rock dikes that run
perpendicular to the shoreline, sandbars develop between the dikes
which has been provided nesting habitat for the endangered least tern
and valuable spawning ground for the endangered pallid sturgeon. The
Missouri Department of Conservation has run tests validating an
increase in diversity and numbers of microinvertebrates surrounding the
notched dikes.
Chevron dikes have been developed to improve river habitat and to
create beneficial uses of dredge material. These structures are placed
in the shallow side of the river channel pointing upstream which
improves the river channel while serving as small islands. These
islands encourage the development of all four primary river ecosystem
habitats and additionally, various micro-organisms cling to the
underwater rock structures, providing a food source for fish.
Changing the gradation of rock revetments, used to stabilize eroding
riverbanks, has proved to provide greater bank stability and precluded
the need to remove bank vegetation so that, for the first time, trees
and rock revetment could coexist providing greater habitat diversity.
The draft legislation authorizes $10 million per year over 5 years to
develop and implement a plan including the following activities:
Modification and improvement of navigation training structures to
protect and enhance fish and wildlife habitat; creation of side
channels to protect and enhance fish and wildlife habitat; restoration
and creation of island fish and wildlife habitat; creation of riverine
fish and wildlife habitat; establishment of criteria to prioritize
based on cost-effectiveness and likelihood of success; and physical and
biological monitoring for evaluating the success of the project.
The draft provides that the project be coordinated with other related
Federal and State activities and that there be public participation in
the development and implementation of the project. It requires a 25-
percent non-Federal cost share and limits the Federal cost of any
single project to $5 million. Finally, the draft legislation confers no
new regulatory authority and requires compliance with the National
Environmental Policy Act.
The legislation is designed to work between the banks of the river
and forbids expressly any adverse impacts on private lands and water-
related activities including flood control, navigation, and water
supply. Additionally, it is designed to compliment other existing
programs such as the Missouri River Mitigation project and the
Environmental Management Program on the Mississippi River.
I intend to work with the administration and with other Senators and
interested groups to build the broad support necessary to enact this
legislation in an omnibus Water Resources Development Act the Senate is
expected to consider in 1998.
Mr. President, the problems experienced in the Midwest and elsewhere
with railroad bottlenecks highlight the need for diverse transportation
options. As the fall harvest proceeds, there are reports of grain being
piled on the ground in neighboring Kansas and Nebraska. Notwithstanding
that I must continue working on behalf of Missouri to preserve river
navigation as a transportation option, our joint efforts to pursue this
new legislation is a strong indicator that we may be experiencing an
episode of domestic detente on river policy between groups that have
pursued differing approaches in the past. This legislation offers a
significant boost for our need to make the various river uses
compatible and an important step toward unifying the river's
stakeholders behind a realistic approach for the future.
I thank and congratulate the various groups who have come together
behind this legislation and look forward to enacting this consensus
legislation.
______
By Mr. BUMPERS (for himself and Mr. Gorton):
S. 1401. A bill to provide for the transition to competition around
electric energy suppliers for the benefit and protection of consumers,
and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources.
the transition to electric competition act of 1997
Mr. BUMPERS. Mr. President, I rise to day to introduce the Transition
to Electric Competition Act of 1997 along with my colleague from the
State of Washington, Senator Gorton. This bill provides for the
transition toward deregulation and competition in the electric utility
industry.
While few people find a discussion of the electric utility industry
and the many laws and regulations governing the industry exciting, the
fact is that electricity is an extremely important commodity which
affects everyone on a daily basis. Any event that increases or reduces
electric rates can impact: First, the lives of the poor and those on
fixed incomes that depend on electricity to heat their homes in the
winter and cool them in the summer; second, the price of goods we buy
every day; as well as third, the competitiveness of our factories. In
addition, decisions made by electric generators often have a direct
effect on our environment as well as our energy security.
It is not at all inconsequential that the electric utility industry,
which has remained relatively static for the last 60 years, is
undergoing a fundamental change. Instead of the traditional vertically
integrated local utility, which generates power at its own plants,
transmits that power over its own lines and sells that power to all
consumers in a particular area, consumers in some States are starting
to be bombarded with all sorts of offers from companies competing to
become their power supplier, and other entrepreneurs will be seeking to
buy large blocks of power to serve certain kinds of consumers.
Naturally, these changes are bound to create considerable apprehension
among both utilities and consumers.
Mr. President, in January I introduced
S. 237, the Electric Consumers
Protection Act, because I believed that retail electric competition was
inevitable and Federal legislation was necessary to ensure that certain
consumers were not disadvantaged in the process. Several States were
proceeding to introduce competition in their jurisdictions and a number
of others were examining the matter. Since that time I have become even
more convinced that competition is on the horizon. Eleven States have
now enacted legislation or issued regulations requiring retail
competition by a time certain. Almost every other State currently has
the matter under review.
Some argue that there is no need for the Federal Government to
intervene; that the States are doing just fine on their own and they
should decide when and how to proceed with retail electric competition.
Mr. President, I couldn't disagree more.
A State-by-State approach will likely produce a lot of unintended
consequences which will limit the benefits associated with retail
competition and could disadvantage certain consumers. Electric
generation markets are becoming increasingly regional and even multi-
regional. What happens in one State can have direct and indirect
impacts on consumers and utilities located in another State. Utilities
operating in more than one State can be subjected to conflicting
regulatory regimes which could impact the way they operate their
systems and the electric rates paid by consumers.
This phenomenon is best illustrated by the multistate utility holding
companies registered under the Public Utility Holding Company [PUHCA].
I have had a lot of experience with registered holding companies
because two of them serve my home State of Arkansas. These holding
companies generally plan for and operate generating facilities on a
system-wide basis for the benefit of customers in the entire region
[[Page
S11969]]
served by the company. If restructuring proceeds on a State-by-State
basis, these holding companies would find themselves subjected to
different requirements which could negatively impact consumers.
A State-by-State approach to retail competition also present problems
where utilities operate entirely within a single State. It would make
no sense for a utility in a State that does not require retail
competition, to be able to sell power at retail in an adjoining State
that requires retail competition, while a utility subjected to retail
competition is unable to mitigate its losses by competing for customers
in the adjoining State. Such a result both increases stranded costs and
distorts the generation marketplace.
Moreover, the States can't adequately address issues associated with
the use of transmission lines that provide for the transportation
across a number of States or the ability of a utility with significant
market power to dominate electricity generation in an entire region.
Clearly these are issues that need to be resolved at the Federal level.
When I introduced
S. 237 there weren't many calling for Federal
action. However, interested observers are increasingly coming to the
conclusion that Federal electric restructuring legislation is not only
helpful, but is necessary. Even some of the States are calling on the
Federal Government to act.
The legislation we are introducing today is an updated version of S.
237. The bill includes the following provisions: All consumers would
have the right to choose their power supplier by January 1, 2002.
States could choose an earlier date for their residents if they wish.
Utilities would be able to recover their legitimate, prudent and
verifiable costs that they would have been able to recover from
ratepayers if retail competition had not been implemented. Consumers
located in States that currently have low cost electricity would be
protected from rate increases by ensuring that utilities can't use
their existing assets to sell power in more lucrative markets to the
disadvantage of their existing customers. All utilities selling retail
power would be required to generate a portion of that power using
renewable resources. All of the interstate transmission facilities
throughout the country would be managed by independent system operators
to ensure that electricity flows in an efficient manner and that
markets are competitive. FERC would be given greater authority to
protect against the use of market power by utilities to inhibit
competition. Both the Public Utility Holding Company Act [PUHCA] and
the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act [PURPA] would be repealed in
conjunction with the implementation of retail electric competition.
In addition, Mr. President, the legislation attempts to address some
of the issues that relate to the impact of retail electric competition
on two Federal entities--the Bonneville Power Administration [BPA] and
the Tennessee Valley Authority [TVA]. Senator Gorton is especially
knowledgeable about the special problems facing BPA and I expect that
he will work closely with the other Members of the Senate from the
Pacific Northwest in developing a consensus approach.
With regard to TVA, our bill attempts to develop an approach that
will enable retail competition to be smoothly introduced in the
Tennessee Valley and will help TVA pay off its tremendous debt. The
bill also requires the TVA board to prepare a study examining whether
TVA should be privatized. I know that some observers may be concerned
that this could be a first step toward the privatization of the Federal
Power Marketing Administration [PMA's]. Mr. President, there is no
connection whatsoever between TVA and the PMA's. The PMA's market power
generated at hydroelectric facilities located at Federal dams. These
dams perform a variety of public services and cannot be privatized.
TVA, on the other hand, generates the bulk of its power from coal and
nuclear plants that serve no public purposes. In addition, the Federal
PMA's pay for themselves through power sales. TVA, on the other hand,
has an enormous level of privately held debt which it must find a way
to pay off, since the Federal Government is not responsible for it.
Mr. President, I am especially pleased that Senator Gorton has
decided to join with me in the effort to enact comprehensive electric
restructuring legislation. He has a reputation as a very bright and
thoughtful Member of this body and is a distinguished member of the
Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which has jurisdiction over the
matter. I know that he shares my desire to move this legislation
through Congress quickly next year.
Senator Murkowski, the chairman of the Senate Energy Committee,
recently indicated that he expects the committee to mark up electric
restructuring legislation next year. Both Senator Gorton and I want to
work with him and the other members of the committee in moving forward.
I look forward to undertaking this important task.
Mr. President, I want to say how honored I am to have one of our most
distinguished Senators, Senator Gorton of Washington, as my chief
cosponsor on this bill.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be
printed in the Record.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a section-by-section
analysis of the Transition to Electric Competition Act of 1997 be
printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
S. 1401
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short title. This Act may be cited as the ``Transition
to Electric Competition Act of 1997''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Severability.
Sec. 5. Enforcement.
TITLE I--RETAIL COMPETITION
Sec. 101. Mandatory retail access.
Sec. 102. Aggregation.
Sec. 103. Prior implementation.
Sec. 104. State regulation.
Sec. 105. Retail stranded cost recovery.
Sec. 106. Wholesale stranded cost recovery.
Sec. 107. Lost retail benefits.
Sec. 108. Universal service.
Sec. 109. Public benefits.
Sec. 110. Renewable energy.
Sec. 111. Determination of local distribution facilities.
Sec. 112. Transmission.
Sec. 113. Competitive generation markets.
Sec. 114. Nuclear decommissioning costs.
Sec. 115. Right to know.
Sec. 116. Exemption of Alaska and Hawaii.
TITLE II--PUBLIC UTILITY HOLDING COMPANIES
Sec. 201. Repeal of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935.
Sec. 202. Exemptions.
Sec. 203. Federal access to books and records.
Sec. 204. State access to books and records.
Sec. 205. Affiliate transactions.
Sec. 206. Clarification of regulatory authority.
Sec. 207. Effect on other regulation.
Sec. 208. Enforcement.
Sec. 209. Savings provision.
Sec. 210. Implementation.
Sec. 211. Resources.
TITLE III--PUBLIC UTILITY REGULATORY POLICIES ACT
Sec. 301. Definition.
Sec. 302. Facilities.
Sec. 303. Contracts.
Sec. 304. Savings clause.
Sec. 305. Effective date.
TITLE IV--ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Sec. 401. Study.
TITLE V--BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION
Sec. 501. Findings and purposes.
Sec. 502. Columbia River fish and wildlife coordination and governance.
Sec. 503. Pacific Northwest federal transmission access.
Sec. 504. Transition cost mechanism.
Sec. 505. Independent system operator participation.
Sec. 506. Financial obligations.
Sec. 507. Prohibition on retail sales.
Sec. 508. Clarification of Commission authority.
Sec. 509. Repealed statute.
TITLE VI--TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY
Sec. 601. Competition in service territory.
Sec. 602. Ability to sell electric energy.
Sec. 603. Termination of contracts.
Sec. 604. Rates for electric energy.
Sec. 605. Privatization study.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that:
(a) Congress has the authority to enact laws, under the
Commerce Clause of the
[[Page
S11970]]
United States Constitution, regarding the wholesale and
retail generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of
electric energy in interstate commerce.
(b) Several States have taken steps to require competition
among retail electric supplies and a large number of other
States are expected to act.
(c) It has been the policy of Congress and the Commission
to promote competition among wholesale electric suppliers.
(d) It is in the public interest that the transition
towards competition in electric service ensures that all
consumers receive reliable and competitively-priced electric
service.
(e) Electric utility companies that prudently incurred
costs pursuant to a regulatory structure that required them
to provide electricity to consumers should not be penalized
during the transition to competition.
(f) Consumers will not benefit from the introduction of
competition among electric energy suppliers if certain
suppliers have undue market power.
(g) It is important to encourage conservation and the use
of renewable resources to reduce reliance on fossil fuels,
promote domestic energy security and protect the environment.
(h) Competition among electric energy suppliers should not
degrade reliability nor cause consumers to lose electric
service.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(a) The term ``affiliate'' of a specific company means any
company 5 percent or more of whose outstanding voting
securities are owned, controlled, or held with power to vote,
directly or indirectly, by such specific company.
(b) The term ``aggregator'' means any person that purchases
or acquires retail electric energy on behalf of two or more
consumers.
(c) The term ``ancillary services'' shall have the same
meaning assigned to it by the Commission.
(d) The term ``associate company'' of a company means any
company in the same holding company system with such company.
(e) The term ``Commission'' means the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission.
(f) The term ``company'' means a corporation, joint stock
company, partnership, association, business trust, organized
group of persons, whether incorporated or not, or a receiver
or receivers, trustee or trustees of any of the foregoing.
(g) The term ``corporation'' means any corporation, joint-
stock company, partnership, association, rural electric
cooperative, municipal utility, business trust, organized
group of persons, whether incorporated or not, or a receiver
or receivers, trustee or trustees of any of the foregoing.
(h) The term ``electric utility company'' means any company
that owns or operates facilities used for the generation,
transmission or distribution of electric energy for sale.
(i) The term ``gas utility company'' means any company that
owns or operates facilities used for distribution at retail
(other than the distribution only in enclosed portable
containers) of natural or manufactured gas for heat, light or
power.
(j) The term ``holding company system'' means a holding
company together with its subsidiary companies.
(k) The term ``large hydroelectric facility'' means a
facility which has a power production capacity which,
together with any other facilities located at the same site,
is greater than 80 megawatts.
(l) The term ``local distribution facilities'' means
facilities used to provide retail electric energy for
ultimate consumption.
(m) The term ``lost retail benefits'' means the increased
cost of retail electric energy in a retail electric energy
provider's service territory resulting from the sale
subsequent to the implementation of retail electric
competition, outside such service territory, of electric
energy generated at facilities the cost of which were
included in the retail rate base of the retail electric
energy provider prior to the implementation of retail
electric competition.
(n) The term ``mitigation'' means any widely accepted
business practice used by an electric utility company to
dispose of or reduce uneconomic assets or costs.
(o) The term ``municipal utility'' means a city, county,
irrigation district, drainage district, or other political
subdivision or agency of a State competent under the laws
thereof to carry on the business of a retail electric energy
provider and/or a retail electric energy supplier.
(p) The term ``person'' means an individual or corporation.
(q) The term ``public utility company'' means an electric
utility company or gas utility company but does not mean a
qualifying facility as defined in the Public Utility
Regulatory Policies Act, or an exempt wholesale generator or
a foreign utility company defined in the Energy Policy Act of
1992.
(r) The term ``public utility holding company'' means (A)
any company that directly or indirectly owns, controls, or
holds with power to vote, 10 percent or more of the
outstanding voting securities of a public utility company or
of a holding company of any public utility company; and (B)
any person, determined by the Securities and Exchange
Commission, after notice and opportunity for hearing, to
exercise directly or indirectly (either alone or pursuant to
an arrangement or understanding with one or more persons)
such a controlling influence over the management or policies
of any public utility or holding company as to make it
necessary or appropriate for the protection of consumers with
respect to rates that such person be subject to the
obligations, duties, and liabilities imposed in this title
upon holding companies.
(s) The term ``renewable energy'' means electricity
generated from solar, wind, waste, including municipal solid
waste, biomass, hydroelectric or geothermal resources.
(t) The term ``Renewable Energy Credit'' means a tradable
certificate of proof that one unit (as determined by the
Commission) of renewable energy was generated by any person.
(u) The term ``retail electric competition'' means the
ability of each consumer in a particular State to purchase
retail electric energy from any person seeking to sell
electric energy to such consumer.
(v) The term ``retail electric energy'' means electric
energy and ancillary services sold for ultimate consumption.
(w) The term ``retail electric energy provider'' means any
person who distributes retail electric energy to consumers
regardless of whether the consumers purchase such energy from
the provider or an alternative supplier. A retail electric
energy provider may also be a retail electric energy
supplier.
(x) The term ``retail electric energy supplier'' means any
person which sells retail electric energy to consumers.
(y) The term ``retail stranded costs'' means all
legitimate, prudent, verifiable and non-mitigatable costs
incurred by an electric utility company in all of its
generation assets which would have been recoverable in retail
rates but for the implementation of retail electric
competition, less the total market value of these assets
after retail electric competition is implemented. Binding
power purchase contracts and regulatory assets, the costs of
which would have been recovered but for the implementation of
retail electric competition, shall be considered generation
assets for purposes of this subsection.
(z) The term ``rural electric cooperative'' means a
corporation that is currently paying off a loan for the
purposes of providing electric service from the Administrator
of the Rural Electrification Administration or the Rural
Utilities Service under the Rural Electrification Act of
1936.
(aa) The term ``State'' means any State or the District of
Columbia.
(bb) The term ``State regulatory authority'' means the
regulatory body of a State or municipality having sole
jurisdiction to regulate rates and charges for the
distribution of electric energy to consumers within the State
or municipality.
(cc) The term ``subsidiary company'' of a holding company
means--
(1) any company 10 percent or more of the outstanding
voting securities of which are directly or indirectly owned,
controlled, or held with power to vote, by such holding
company; and
(2) any person the management or policies of which the
Securities and Exchange Commission, after notice and
opportunity for hearing, determines to be subject to a
controlling influence, directly or indirectly, by such
holding company (either alone or pursuant to an arrangement
or understanding with one or more other persons) so as to
make it necessary for the protection of consumers that such
person be subject to the obligations, duties, and liabilities
imposed upon subsidiary companies of public utility holding
companies.
(dd) The term ``transmission system'' means all facilities,
including federally-owned facilities, transmitting
electricity in interstate commerce in a particular region,
including all facilities transmitting electricity in the
State of Texas and those providing international
interconnections, but does not include local distribution
facilities as determined by the Commission.
(ee) The term ``wholesale electric energy'' means electric
energy and ancillary services sold for resale.
(ff) The term ``wholesale electric energy supplier'' means
any person which sells wholesale electric energy.
(gg) The term ``wholesale stranded costs'' shall have the
same meaning as in the Commission's Order No. 888.
(hh) The term ``voting security'' means any security
presently entitling the owner or holder thereof to vote in
the direction or management of the affairs of a company.
SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act, or the application of such
provision to any person or circumstance, shall be held
invalid, the remainder of the Act, and the application of
such provision to persons or circumstances other than those
as to which it is held invalid, shall not be affected
thereby.
SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Violation of the Act.--If any individual or corporation
or any other retail electric energy supplier or provider
fails to comply with the requirements of this Act, any
aggrieved person may bring an action against such entity to
enforce the requirements of this Act in the appropriate
Federal district court.
(b) State or Commission Action.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, any person seeking redress from an action
taken by a State regulatory authority, the Commission or a
regulatory board pursuant to this Act shall bring such action
in the appropriate circuit of the United States Court of
Appeals.
[[Page
S11971]]
TITLE I--ELECTRIC COMPETITION
SEC. 101. MANDATORY RETAIL ACCESS.
(a) Customer Choice.--Beginning on January 1, 2002, each
consumer shall have the right to purchase retail electric
energy from any person offering to sell retail electric
energy to such consumer, subject to any limitations imposed
pursuant to section 104(a) of this Act.
(b) Local Distribution and Retail Transmission
Facilities.--Beginning on January 1, 2002, all persons
seeking to sell retail electric energy shall have reasonable
and nondiscriminatory access, on an unbundled basis, to the
local distribution and retail transmission facilities of all
retail electric energy providers and all ancillary
services.
SEC. 102. AGGREGATION.
Subject to any limitations imposed pursuant to section
104(a) of this Act, a group of consumers or any person acting
on behalf of such group may purchase or acquire retail
electric energy for the members of the group if they are
located in a State or States where there is retail electric
competition.
SEC. 103. PRIOR IMPLEMENTATION.
(a) State Action.--Nothing in the Federal Power Act (16
U.S.C. 824 et seq.) shall be deemed to prohibit a State or
State regulatory authority, if authorized under State law,
from requiring retail electric energy providers selling
retail electric energy to consumers in such State to provide
reasonable and nondiscriminatory access, on an unbundled
basis, to its local distribution facilities and all ancillary
services to any retail electric energy supplier prior to
January 1, 2002.
(b) Grandfather.--Legislation enacted by a State or a
regulation issued by a State regulatory authority which has
the effect of providing all consumers in such State the
opportunity to purchase retail electric energy from any
retail electric energy supplier by January 1, 2002 and
provides electric utility companies with the opportunity to
recover their retail stranded costs as defined by this Act
(unless there is an agreement between a State or State
regulatory authority and a retail electric energy provider
which provides for a different level of recovery), shall be
deemed to be in compliance with the requirements of sections
101 and 105 of this Act.
(c) Reciprocity.--A State or State regulatory authority
that provides for retail electric competition may preclude
any retail electric energy provider selling retail electric
energy to consumers in another State and their affiliates
from selling retail electric energy to consumers in the State
with retail electric competition if the retail electric
energy provider does not provide reasonable and
nondiscriminatory access, on an unbundled basis, to its local
distribution facilities to any retail electric energy
supplier.
SEC. 104. STATE REGULATION.
(a) State Requirements.--A State or a State regulatory
authority may impose requirements on persons seeking to sell
retail electric energy to consumers in that State which are
intended to promote the public interest, including
requirements related to generation reliability and the
provision of information to consumers and other retail
electric energy suppliers. Any such requirements must be
applied on a nondiscriminatory basis and may not be used to
exclude any class of potential suppliers, such as retail
electric energy providers, from the opportunity to sell
retail electric energy.
(b) Maintenance of State Authority.--Nothing in this Act is
intended to prohibit a State from enacting laws or imposing
regulations related to retail electric energy service that
are consistent with the requirements of this Act.
(c) Continued State Authority Over Distribution.--A State
or State regulatory authority may continue to regulate local
distribution service currently subject to State regulation,
including billing and metering in any manner consistent with
this Act.
SEC. 105. RETAIL STRANDED COST RECOVERY.
(a) Application
Amendments:
Cosponsors: