Thanks for raising the issue.  Keep me posted!   Mark



	Christian Yoder
	03/08/2001 09:38 AM
		 
		 To: Steve C Hall/PDX/ECT@ECT, pgboylston@stoel.com
		 cc: Tracy Ngo/PDX/ECT@ECT, Elizabeth Sager/HOU/ECT@ECT, Richard B 
Sanders/HOU/ECT@ECT, Mark E Haedicke/HOU/ECT@ECT
		 Subject: BPA: anatomy of payment mechanism

Whereas in the California phase of the western power crisis, we had to deal 
with the emergence of a new governmental agency, CDWR, and figure out whether 
or not and how it might pay us,  in the next, northwest phase, where we will 
probably have to deal with the disintegration, or at least misbehavior,  of a 
powerful federal rogue agency, BPA, one issue that will invariably arise is 
payment default by BPA.  As we have blithely sailed along with BPA up until 
now, we often say to ourselves,  "Oh, when you contract with BPA, you are 
backed by the good faith and credit of the United States of America."  I 
would like you both to put your heads together and decide who at your firm 
can give us a memo addressing BPA's payment mechanisms from a legal, 
statutory perspective.  It bothers me to hear things like;  "they only have 
$700 million in their warchest,"  or "if they can't make their Treasury 
payment they are toast."  What do these kinds of remarks mean to us legally?  
Are we contracting with the surplus bloated   Treasury of the United States 
of America or are we going to have a rude surprise and find out that we are 
contracting with one of these discrete funds that can run out of cash and be 
held hostage by warring politicians?   We need a concise legal analysis of 
this point very soon. ----cgy