madam chairman , i rise in opposition to the amendment offered by the gentleman from michigan ( mr. dingell ) xz4001100 . 
basically , this guts the whole bill . 
it substitutes a power act amendment for the entire bill . 
it , frankly , goes far beyond anything being considered currently in the electricity debate , particularly with respect to utility security , ferc rate-making authority , reporting requirements , and industry accounting . 
in addition , this amendment would fundamentally rewrite portions of the natural gas act , something that is clearly outside the scope of this debate . 
i point out that the amendment is opposed by the edison electric institute , the american public power association , and the national rural electric cooperative association . 
those are the co-ops . 
it does not help site new transmission that is needed to ensure reliability and provide adequate supplies of affordable electricity to consumers . 
it does not repeal puhca , which facilitates the construction of new construction and promotes badly needed investment in the electric utility industry . 
it does not amend purpa to reform the contract process and save constituents money , and it does not promote certainty of contract that is necessary to promote investment and better market operation by putting all market-based contracts at risk . 
it does not provide ferc the flexibility needed to regulate markets that develop in the future by issuing prescriptive rules , procedures , and penalties . 
what the amendment does do , unfortunately , is create market uncertainty , it imposes excessive penalties , and it institutes almost continuous investigation of all utilities with market-based rates , not only burdening utilities , but also burdening ferc and stretching its resources . 
madam chairman , i hope that the congress will join me and other like-minded colleagues in opposing this amendment . 
