As of the end of the first session of the 105th Congress, there were 20 legislative proposals pending which are directly or indirectly related to the restructuring of the electric power industry. The following gives each bill number, its sponsor, its date of introduction, and a very brief synopsis of its intent.
IN THE SENATE: S.237 - introduced by Senator Dale Bumpers (D-AR) on January 30, 1997; to provide for retail competition among electric energy suppliers for the benefit and protection of consumers, and for other purposes. S. 621 - introduced by Senator Alfonse M. D'Amato (R-NY) on April 22, 1997; to repeal the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935. S. 687 - introduced by Senator James M. Jeffords (R-VT) on May 1, 1997; to enhance the benefits of the national electric system by encouraging and supporting State programs for renewable energy sources, universal electric service, affordable electric service, and energy conservation and efficiency, and for other purposes. S. 710 - introduced by Senator John Breaux (D-LA) on May 7, 1997; to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the credit for producing fuel from a nonconventional source to taxpayers using biomass fuel sources in the generation of electricity through the use of a suspension burning process. S. 722 - introduced by Senator Craig Thomas (R-WY) on May 8, 1997; to benefit consumers by promoting competition in the electric power industry, and for other purposes. S. 1276 - introduced by Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) on October 8, 1997; to amend the Federal Power Act, to facilitate the transition to more competitive and efficient electric power markets, and for other purposes. S. 1401 - introduced by Senator Dale Bumpers (D-AR) on November 7, 1997; to provide for the transition to competition among electric energy suppliers for the benefit and protection of consumers, and for other purposes. This modifies S. 237.) S. 1483 - introduced by Senator Frank Murkowski (R-AK) on November 8, 1997; to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for the treatment of tax-exempt bond financing of certain electrical output facilities. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: H.R. 296 - introduced by Congressman John Shadegg (R-AZ) on January 7, 1997; to privatize the Federal Power Marketing Administrations, and for other purposes. H.R. 338 - introduced by Congressman Cliff Stearns (R-FL) on January 7, 1997; to prospectively repeal section 210 of PURPA. H.R. 603 - introduced by Congressman Bob Franks (R-NJ) on February 5, l997; to amend the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 to prohibit appropriations after FY 1998. H.R. 655 - introduced by Congressman Dan Schaefer (R-CO) on February 10, 1997; to give all American electricity consumers the right to choose among competitive providers of electricity, in order to secure lower electricity rates, higher quality services, and a more robust U.S. economy, and for other purposes. H.R. 718 - introduced by Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL) on February 12, 1997; to privatize certain Federal power generation and transmission assets, and for other purposes. H.R. 1230 - introduced by Congressman Tom DeLay (R-TX) on April 8, 1997; to give all American electricity consumers the right to choose among competitive providers of electricity in order to secure lower electricity rates, higher quality services, and a more robust U.S. economy, and for other purposes. H.R. 1359 - introduced by Congressman Peter A. DeFazio (D-OR) on April 17, 1997; to amend PURPA to establish a means to support programs for electric energy conservation and energy efficiency, renewable energy, and universal and affordable service for electric consumers. H.R. 1401 - introduced by Congressman Bill Thomas (R-CA) on April 17, 1997; to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a 5-year extension of the credit for producing electricity from wind. H.R. 1910 - introduced by Congresswoman Julia Carson (D-IN) on June 17, 1997; to establish minimum nationwide nitrogen oxide pollution standards for fossil-fuel fired electric powerplants. H.R. 1960 - introduced by Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-MA) on June 19, 1997; to modernize PUHCA, the Federal Power Act, the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, and PURPA to promote competition in the electric power industry, and for other purposes. H.R. 2909 - introduced by Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) on November 7, 1997; to amend the Federal Power Act to establish requirements regarding the operation of certain electric generating facilities, and for other purposes. H.R. 2988 - introduced by Congressman John T. Doolittle (R-CA) on November 9, 1997; to facilitate the operation, maintenance, and upgrade of certain federally owned hydroelectric power generating facilities, to ensure the recovery of costs, and to improve the ability of the Federal Government to coordinate its generating and marketing of electricity with the non-Federal electric utility industry.