http://www.buzzflash.com/analysis/03/08/15_blackout.html
If Bush Really Wants to Investigate the Cause of the Largest Blackout in American History, He Should Start with the Vice-President, Tom DeLay and Himself A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS The following BuzzFlash news analysis was developed using material provided by alert BuzzFlash readers: CLAIM "We'll have time to look at it and determine whether or not our grid needs to be modernized. I happen to think it does, and have said so all along." - George Bush, 8/14/03 [LINK] SAN DIEGO - President Bush said he will order a review of why so many states were hit by a massive power blackout Thursday and said he suspects the nation's electrical grid will have to be modernized. [LINK] FACT In June of 2001, Bush opposed and the congressional GOP voted down legislation to provide $350 million worth of loans to modernize the nation's power grid because of known weaknesses in reliability and capacity. Supporters of the amendment pointed to studies by the Energy Department showing that the grid was in desperate need of upgrades as proof that their legislation U.S. Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA) should pass. Unfortunately, the Bush Administration lobbied against it and the Republicans voted it down three separate times: First, on a straight party line in the U.S. House Appropriations Committee, then on a straight party line the U.S. House Rules Committee, and finally on a party line on the floor of the full House [Roll Call Vote #169, 6/20/01]. As AP reported at the time, the amendment would have amendments that would have doubled the bill's money for energy assistance for the poor to $600 "provided $350 million to support loans to improve the capacity of transmission grids. 'It's pure demagoguery,' House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said in a brief interview regarding the Democratic amendments. 'If Democrats had an energy policy, they'd have had one in the last eight years. They have no credibility on this issue whatsoever. They are responsible for the energy crunch more than anybody I know.' Spotlighting the high political stakes, House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., took the unusual step of issuing a written statement about the committee's energy votes. He said President Bush and Republicans are 'committed to helping the Big Energy special interests' and accused them of obstruction." [AP, 6/14/01]. FY02 energy and water bill – 6/25/2001 FARR AMENDMENT: Electric Power Grid Improvement Loans AMENDMENT DESCRIPTION: Total cost: $350 million Authorize the Secretary of Energy to make loans and loan-guarantees for the purpose of improving existing electric power transmission systems, reliability or capacity. These loans must be repaid in full within 25 years, such that the long-term cost to the government is zero. BACKGROUND: - GROWING DEMAND NOT MATCHED BY GROWING TRANSMISSION CAPACITY: Over the next 10 years, the Department of Energy predicts that demand for electric power will increase by 25%, requiring more than 200,000 megawatts of new capacity. However, under current plans electric transmission capacity will not be nearly enough to keep pace. - CALIFORNIA’S PATH 15 ALREADY PROVES THAT BOTTLENECKS ARE A PROBLEM: Path 15 in California consists of two 84 mile 500 kilovolt transmission lines between the northern and southern parts of the State. There is complete agreement that Path 15 is a major bottleneck that contributes to blackouts in the State, costing the consumers $222 million in 2000 alone. The one-time cost to fix the Path 15 problem is $250 million, which would increase transfer capacity over Path 15 by approximately 1500 megawatts. The Secretary of Energy himself testified, that constructing the 3rd Path 15 line within the existing pathway would increase system reliability, reduce the likelihood of blackouts, and lead to greater competition and lower prices. - EXISTING BILL UNDERFUNDS EFFORTS TO ADDRESS BOTTLENECKS: The supplemental bill before you today includes $1.6 million, not requested by the Administration, for the Department of Energy to study the power grid problem. While that’s a positive first step, the fact is that the project has been studied for years and there is consensus among all parties that upgrades are desperately needed – and needed now. - AMENDMENT WOULD DEAL WITH ENTIRE GRID: This amendment is designed to deal with all of the major power grid vulnerabilities. Here's part of a news release (from June 21, 2001) by a Democratic Congressman who saw the Republicans fight against and defeat his effort to have the government provide loans to upgrade the nation's electrical grid [LINK] : REPUBLICANS DENY REP. FARR'S AMENDMENT FOR ELECTRIC POWER GRID LOANS 'I'm disheartened that some Republicans continue to play politics while the energy crisis wreaks havoc on our lives,' Rep. Farr says (Washington, DC) - Rep. Sam Farr tried to offer an amendment to an appropriations bill today that would provide funding for electric power grid improvements. The Republican-dominated Rules Committee refused to allow the amendment on the bill. "One thing that's aggravated the energy crisis in California is the antiquated power grid infrastructure," Rep. Farr said. "Power gets generated in Southern California and squeezed up an 85-mile stretch of high-voltage wires in the Central Valley called Path 15. The demand for energy in the Silicon Valley and San Francisco far outstrips the capacity of Path 15, which is a dangerous bottleneck and needs to be overhauled." Rep. Farr vowed to continue offering the amendment to other legislation this year. The amendment authorizes $350 million to fund direct loans and loan guarantees to improve electric power transmission systems in the United States. Under the amendment, the loans and loan guarantees can only be made after the Secretary of Energy approves them; determines that other commercial financing is unavailable and that an emergency exists, and finds that the projects they fund would maintain or improve electricity transmission. Borrowers would have up to 25 years to repay the loans. "This loan program would benefit people of all political stripes," Rep. Farr said. "And the loans could be used by public or private-sector groups to improve an electrical grid that is clearly outdated and overburdened in California and elsewhere. That's why I'm disheartened that some Republicans continue to play politics while the energy crisis wreaks havoc on our lives." Rep. Farr said that while many Republicans are gradually coming to see the wisdom of intervening in what is obviously a dysfunctional energy market in the West, the Republicans on the Rules Committee that rejected his amendment is out of touch with the damage caused by the California energy crisis. Families are facing soaring energy costs, businesses are fighting for survival and political leaders who continue to ignore their plight do so at their own peril, he added. And how does this illuminate Cheney's refusal to help California when it suffered rolling blackouts from the predatory behavior of the power companies and Gray Davis asked for help? Well, the Bush administration's and Tom DeLay's refusal to upgrade the electrical grid had a similar -- but even more dramatic -- impact on August 14, 2003 And what about Arnold Schwarzenegger? Read on: "In order to counter the virtual public consensus that deregulation ought to be dumped, Ken Lay, during the spring of 2001, began a series of high-powered meetings to salvage the deteriorating argument for his energy scheme.... He met privately with Vice President Cheney in the days leading up to the administration's publication of what became an extremely Enron-friendly National Energy Plan. Successful on the national front as a result of his longstanding relationship with key Republicans, Lay hoped to regain his footing in California by forging ties with prominent Republicans in the state. In May of 2001, Lay convened a private meeting with junk bond king Michael Milken, Los Angeles' then-Mayor Richard Riordan and Arnold Schwarzenegger, at which Lay reportedly presented his vision of solving the state's energy deregulation crisis by, absurd as it sounds, expanding deregulation. The meeting, about which the public still knows very little, may become a major issue now that Schwarzenegger is no longer just a Republican movie star..." [LINK] Now Bush wants to "review" the electrical grid problems. Well, he only need look in the mirror and call Tom DeLay and Dick Cheney to get to the bottom of the issue. With those three people in hand, he won't have to look any farther for the primary culprits in our government. And when he's finished, he might have John "KGB" prosecute the real villains behind all of this -- including the past problems in California -- starting with Ken Lay. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
