Bush Rejects Plea From California For Federal Caps on Electricity Bills
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES -- Face to face, President Bush rejected
California Gov. Gray Davis' plea for federal caps on soaring
electricity bills Tuesday and called for an end to feuding and
finger-pointing. Unswayed, the governor said California was
getting "a raw deal," and would sue the federal government for
help.
On a three-day mission to improve his West Coast political
prospects, the president played down his private meeting with Mr.
Davis in favor of an unusually busy public schedule highlighting
his efforts to conserve electricity at federal installations, ease
summer energy costs to the poor and boost the state's long-term
resources.
Mr. Davis, a Democrat with hopes of challenging Mr. Bush for
the presidency in 2004, demanded that Washington force down
electricity prices that have cost California nearly $8 billion since
January.
"I explained to the president if he were governor, like I, he would
be doing everything in his power to fight for the [California]
people who are getting a raw deal," Mr. Davis said at a news
conference after the 40-minute meeting.
He said the state would sue the Federal Emergency Regulatory
Commission for price relief, saying the agency has already found
that energy costs are unreasonable.
Later, a stone-faced Mr. Davis sat two seats away when the
president told California business leaders, "Price caps do nothing
to reduce demand, and they do nothing to increase supply." Mr.
Bush said price limits are politically appealing but create "more
serious shortages and therefore, even higher prices."
The shouts of two protesters knocked Mr. Bush off rhythm
temporarily. "Stop the gouging of our economy!" yelled one.
Joined by Mr. Davis, the audience applauded as the protesters
were taken out of the hotel ballroom.
Messrs. Davis and Bush shook hands warmly before and after the
president's speech. They planned to meet privately later.
That session was tightly choreographed, and neither side expected
a resolution of their differences. Too much was at stake: After
weeks of mixed signals, Mr. Bush needs to show Californians he
sympathizes with their power problems. Mr. Davis, his approval
rating plummeting, is searching for a scapegoat -- and a way out
of the energy crunch.
Polls show voters in the nation's most populous state don't think
either politician is doing enough to ease their power woes.
Shortages and high prices could spread elsewhere and cause
political problems for Mr. Bush. Energy Secretary Spencer
Abraham was in Yonkers, N.Y., on Tuesday, warning that
transmission bottlenecks are not restricted to California.
Mr. Bush has criticized California, and by implication Mr. Davis
himself, for not building more power plants or moving quicker to
respond to fallout from faulty state deregulation laws. He sought
Tuesday to remain above the fray, even as White House advisers
continued to criticize Mr. Davis privately and predicted that the
governor's confrontational approach would backfire now that Mr.
Bush has changed his public tone.
"For too long -- and too often -- too many have wasted energy
pointing fingers and laying blame," Mr.. Bush told the Los
Angeles World Affair Council in remarks aimed at Mr. Davis.
"Energy is a problem that requires action: not politics, not excuses,
but action. And blame-shifting is not action -- it is distraction."
Earlier, in the sundappled courtyard of the 1st Marine Division
headquarters -- nicknamed "the White House" for the color of its
low-slung wood facade -- Mr. Bush delivered a speech offering
small measures of federal help to California.
The initiatives include:
$150 million to help low-income Americans pay energy bills
this summer. He will ask Congress to approve the additional
spending for this fiscal year, which ends in October.
His announcement that military facilities in California have
exceeded their goal of trimming usage by 10% during peak
hours.
A Department of Energy project to stimulate the building of
more electrical lines running north and south through the
state.
Mr. Bush also said his $1.35 trillion tax-cut plan will offer "some
help" to people struggling to pay soaring energy bills.
Mr. Davis, who was elected in 1998 in a landslide, has watched
his job approval rating drop about 20 percentage points since
January as he struggled to come to grips with the state's energy
shortages and rolling blackouts.
Mr. Bush's job approval rating is still relatively high, though 56%
of Californians in a recent poll said they disapprove of his
handling of the electricity crisis.
The president has avoided the state since losing its 54 electoral
votes to Democratic rival Al Gore by 12 percentage points. He
visited 29 states to promote his tax and budget plans before finally
coming to California.
Senior Republicans, including some Bush advisers, privately
concede that Mr. Bush's prospects are dim for winning California
in 2004. They are working on electoral map models that don't
include the state in his chase for 270 electoral votes.
Mr. Bush had to eek out a recount in Florida to win the
presidency without California last year.
Sooner on the horizon are the 2002 congressional elections, where
California could tip the balance. Republicans say Mr. Bush has to
improve his standing here to help the GOP maintain control of the
House and regain the Senate. |
