Sen. Phil Gramm, chairman of the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, made the following statement today at a hearing of the Subcommittee on Securities and Investment on S.206, the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2001.

The bill, an important component of the planned overhaul of federal energy policy, would repeal the Public Utility Holding Act of 1935 and transfer oversight of public utility holding companies from the Securities and Exchange Commission to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and appropriate state agencies. S. 206 was introduced in the 107th Congress on January 30 by Sen. Richard Shelby and others.

"Chairman Enzi, I want to thank you for this excellent hearing. Thank you for your leadership on this issue.

"Senator Shelby and I first discussed PUHCA repeal when we were Democrats, serving on the Energy and Commerce Committee in the House of Representatives. We were sitting next to each other when this subject was first discussed. That was in 1979, and Senator Shelby has been a leader on this ever since.

"I believe the year has come to repeal PUHCA. I plan to hold a markup on this bill, perhaps as early as we can schedule it. We have reported it in the past, but other issues have ended up interfering with it.

"I am reminded of that old poem that goes:

"I want to say to those who have been leaders in this effort, this is the year that we're going to repeal PUHCA. This is the thing that needs to be done.

"I want to pledge myself to an all-out effort this year to repeal this law. Hopefully, PUHCA is in its last year of life in 2001."