Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX) of the House Energy and Air QualitySubcommittee said last week he was sending to the White House a”list of ideas” about what the federal government can do to helpCalifornia with its ongoing electricity crisis.

Although “the ability of the federal government to help islimited…we do care about what is happening in California and theWest, and we do want to do what [we] can do. We certainly want tohelp California avoid blackouts,” he said during a subcommitteehearing last Thursday on California’s power problems.

“The time for addressing the expected summer supply problems isupon us. If we’re going to act legislatively, we need to begin thatprocess this week,” noted Barton, who is weighing the idea ofintroducing emergency legislation to head off a worsening supplysituation in the state this summer.

“Perhaps we can work with the state…on a bipartisan basis” toresolve these daunting issues.

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