The principles of hope and duty.

• Author: Rustad, Wally
• Position: Principles guiding leaders of National Rural Electric Cooperative Association

A reflection on the past 35 years in the rural electric program, the changes that have taken place, and the challenges that lie ahead.

We have just completed what many pundits proclaim to be an "uneventful" 105th Congress. Webster's defines "pundit" as "a learned man" or "one who gives opinions in an authoritative manner." With all due respect to these Washington-based commentators, I believe most pundits fall within the category of the latter. The 105th Session was a good - perhaps not spectacular - but a good Congress, and a precursor for what will be an interesting and perhaps pivotal 106th Congress for the electric utilities in general, and for America's electric cooperatives in particular.

As we approach the end of this millennium, it would be fitting for us to look back to the conclusion of the previous millennium - the late 1890s - and contemplate the similarities, which are striking. These comprise: An incumbent president completing his second term - albeit two "split terms" - plagued by real or reputed scandais; a lurid press whetting the popular taste for melodrama and titillation; unprecedented prosperity for investors; debt-plagued struggling farmers in the south, midwest and the Great Plains; woes on the international front (including Cuba); and awkward if not outright contentious, multination entanglements. All in all, rather startling similarities in the "then and now" events leading to the conclusion of both centuries. So much for a yearning for the "simpler" times!

As we look forward to the 106th Congress, as members of the electric cooperative community, we can also look back with satisfaction and some degree of pride at the measurable outcomes of the past two years.

As an Association, we have indeed been innovative. We have maximized the use of our dues income. And, unlike entities that are not constituted as cooperatives, we were provided with clear direction by the NRECA membership resolutions, by the NRECA Board of Directors, and through the leadership of Glenn English, now completing his 5th year at the helm.

But as we confront the impending challenges of complex state and possibly federal legislation to restructure the electric industry, we must keep, in the uppermost reaches of our minds, the many other ever present and serious legislative challenges that confront us. These include issues relating to power supply, costly and ineffective environmental initiatives, long-range system financing, health and safety, Y2K...