[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 23, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7143-S7145]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                IDAHOANS SPEAK OUT ON HIGH ENERGY PRICES

  Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, In mid-June, I asked Idahoans to share with 
me how high energy prices are affecting their lives, and they responded 
by the hundreds. The stories, numbering over 1,000, are heartbreaking 
and touching. To respect their efforts, I am submitting every e-mail 
sent to me through [email protected] .gov to the Congressional 
Record. This is not an issue that will be easily resolved, but it is 
one that deserves immediate and serious attention, and Idahoans deserve 
to be heard. Their stories not only detail their struggles to meet 
everyday expenses, but also have suggestions and recommendations as to 
what Congress can do now to tackle this problem and find solutions that 
last beyond today. I ask unanimous consent that today's letters be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

       Thank you for your excellent newsletter and for listening 
     to your constituency. My story is as follows: We live in 
     Horseshoe Bend and I commute to Boise every day (M-F) for 
     work. We have a large family, and my wife constantly has a 
     need to take our van in to Boise for various family needs--
     medical, sports, clothing, etc. My income has not kept up 
     with the rising gas prices, and it has made things very 
     difficult. I cannot get my work to let me telecommute; I have 
     chosen to drive a practical car, as economical as possible 
     (Toyota Corolla). My wife has tried to cut back her trips to 
     town to one or two days a week. This has often resulted in no 
     groceries in the house until she can make a run, or I can run 
     after work and miss family time at night. My oldest son, who 
     just turned 18, has started working in Boise the past few 
     months and, since he cannot afford the gas back and forth, 
     has been staying with friends as much as possible, which has 
     been stressful to both my wife and I, but having a job is 
     important to him. Even with all of our cutting back, our 
     family has to cough up about $400/month just for fuel and the 
     costs keep going up. We want Congress to quickly move to 
     begin developing our own fuel sources within the U.S., as 
     well as find ways to make alternative sources (like solar, 
     etc.) much more affordable for households to implement into 
     our lifestyles.
       Thanks for listening!
     Jonathan, Horseshoe Bend.
                                  ____

       We (my wife and I) are probably some of the fortunate few 
     that had the ability, even though we will be paying for it 
     for years) to convert from ``oil'' heat to natural gas with a 
     heat pump. This cost came at a very large price. We had been 
     helping our son, an honors student, with his college at 
     Eastern Washington, and now cannot do that due to having the 
     above mentioned bill to pay in addition to trying to stay 
     above selling out our home due to ever increasing costs that 
     a couple on retirement (I am a retired agent law enforcement, 
     25 year career) just cannot afford.
       [We ask that Congress] get a grip on this problem. I, for 
     one, do not believe that this was just an unfortunate set of 
     circumstances, [as it seems that businesses with oil 
     interests are benefitting tremendously from the profits these 
     high prices have created.]
     Dennis and Sandy.
                                  ____

       Thank you for your interest in the thoughts from Idaho 
     citizens about the high fuel costs. I think that if a person 
     is still breathing, they are being affected by these price 
     increases. In our own family, we have made every effort to 
     cut down on our driving and making sure we combine our 
     activities to conserve. Maybe these are things we should have 
     been doing all along and I hope we continue to do. This year 
     we have decided to not take a family vacation because of the 
     high costs associated with traveling with a large family and 
     having to drive a large vehicle to accommodate all eight of 
     us. We also love to waterski and were planning on buying a 
     new boat; however, that, too, has been put on hold because it 
     would be too expensive to use it enough to warrant the 
     purchase price.
       I see the biggest concern in our family with our two oldest 
     children who are raised and on their own. One has graduated 
     with a Master's degree in business and has chosen a teaching 
     profession, but she can barely make ends meet as it is. Now, 
     with the cost of fuel, she may lose her small, modest home or 
     be forced to take on a roommate in order to make up the 
     difference in the gas prices. Our other adult child is 
     working full time and going to school part time because he 
     needs the extra income to pay for fuel. This is affecting my 
     husband and me; however, I see it affecting the next 
     generation even more. The high cost of housing combined with 
     the high fuel costs and grocery costs is making it impossible 
     for many of them to just get by, let alone put any money away 
     in savings.
       I wish I had all the answers, but I do not. I am trusting 
     in good people like you that I have voted for to help us as a 
     nation get back on our feet. Thank you for all you do. Please 
     keep listening to the citizens of Idaho. I know if we work 
     together then we can make positive changes for all of our 
     futures.
           Sincerely,
     Jackie, Rigby.
                                  ____

       I do not have a story to share. I just want to let you know 
     that I think increased drilling and refining should be down 
     the priority list. That is living in the past and pretending 
     the future will be different. It will not. In order to 
     protect the air that supports us, we should ride the horses 
     of alternative energy, efficiency, conservation and nuclear 
     energy.
           Thank you,
     Roger, Hailey.
                                  ____

       Higher fuel costs equate to higher food and material costs 
     which translate to a smaller disposable income for everyone. 
     It is like we all took a big cut in pay! I do not want our 
     country to end up as a gilded ``third-world'' nation with 
     meaningless currency. There is a person out there who made an 
     important clip on YouTube that every American should see: 
     YouTube--Joe, American Challenges the Presidential 
     Candidates--as this individual makes some valid points and 
     offers some course of solution to deal with our oil 
     dependency on countries who do not really like us except for 
     our money. Please watch it. Thanks.
     Howard.
                                  ____

       I personally am appalled at the prices and how steadily 
     they have risen. I understand that there are some things such 
     as inflation and supply and demand; yet, what the oil 
     industry is doing falls under neither category. It, instead, 
     is falling under the category of monopoly, which I feel the 
     government has yet to do anything about. A few things I would 
     like to see in honest:
       (1) Either for the government to stop subsidizing crude oil 
     and gasoline, and/or for a ceiling to be put upon profits 
     brought in. They claim, noting again, that it is supply and 
     demand, as well as problems in the Middle East. Only 
     approximately 20%, in a recent study, of our oil usage comes 
     from there, anyway. So why are the prices so high?
       (2) Stop the push for attempts at subsidizing and pushing 
     for nuclear energies as there is an overwhelming stance 
     against them and you will never be able to pass anything soon 
     enough to fix the problem at hand. Also, in this category, I 
     feel that it is a pointless endeavor as there is no place to 
     place the waste [other than on site, and the citizens of 
     Idaho, and other states, will not stand for mere on-site 
     storage]. Yucca Mountain has no chance of opening in any 
     point in the near future [even if possible, it is already 
     filled over capacity from open plants at the

[[Page S7144]]

     moment]; therefore it would have to be on-site.
       [Both of the aforementioned are a waste of taxpayer dollars 
     to subsidize and make pushes for. Instead of spending 
     billions of dollars on a failing industry and something that 
     is not going to last much longer, and one where so much has 
     to be spent between construction, security, and pro-
     nuclear advertisements, I propose the following.]
       (3) Invest in ever-growing renewable energy sources. There 
     are many other players in this field that we can look to for 
     examples, as they have found and harnessed extraordinary 
     means that can provide for their base load energy needs. The 
     amount of money that the government has spent on renewable 
     energy pales drastically in contrast to the amount that is 
     spent needlessly in a failing industry. If that same amount 
     of money were to be applied to another for even but a year, 
     you could expect even greater leaps and bounds in production 
     and energy output. As conservative as Idaho is I propose that 
     WE as a state pursue this choice. Yes I understand that in 
     doing so Congress fears that it will lose backing from INL 
     and other proposed plants within the state, not to mention 
     the taxes that are brought in by such industry. Yet at the 
     same time with as much as we have to give them in tax breaks 
     and subsidies just as incentives places it on par with those 
     of renewable energies, as those would be eager to establish 
     and maintain plants without such things [therefore receiving 
     full taxes from those companies].
       I appreciate your efforts to ask the opinions of the 
     citizens of this great state, and I hope and pray that you, 
     as well as the rest of Congress, heed them. Thank you for 
     your time and service.
           Sincerely,
     Christopher, Boise.
                                  ____

       [I am very frustrated as it seems that Congress does not 
     solve the problems that confront our country. We need new 
     leadership.]
     Roy.
                                  ____

       The high gasoline prices have prodded me to change my 
     driving habits and, by doing so, have saved on fuel costs. I 
     have done one simple thing. I just slowed down 5 miles per 
     hour. I drive a \3/4\-ton pickup truck, and that alone has 
     increased my fuel mileage 8%-12%. I emailed you to suggest 
     that you introduce a bill in the Senate to lower the speed 
     limit on all interstate highways, just like what was done in 
     the 70s. That alone would decrease gasoline usage 
     substantially.
       Thank you for your ear.
     Bob.
                                  ____

       I have had to dedicate 15% more of my budget to fuel costs 
     [for my commute to McCall]. I try to carpool in the months 
     where my schedule allows it. I work in fire dispatch on the 
     Payette National Forest, and most days from April to October, 
     I do not know when I am going home.
       My deep belief is that digging for more oil is putting a 
     ``band-aid on a crack in the dam.'' Digging for more oil, 
     especially in the ANWR area, is horrific and not worth the 
     long-term damage that will be done for such a short-term 
     solution. I think the fuel cell technology is a very 
     promising route to put into research and development. There 
     are some stations in California that are wind and solar 
     powered. As I understand it, the more people using it, the 
     cheaper it gets. What would REALLY be ideal is to get a 
     converter for gasoline cars to switch to the fuel cell 
     technology.
       Thanks for your time and caring about what I think!
     Coral, New Meadows.
                                  ____

       I received your e-mail about the costs of energy going up 
     and up. I see that conversation is now a priority. I remember 
     when this administration laughed at the idea. Maybe you could 
     tell us what percentage of the oil from Alaska goes overseas. 
     Also, how much refined gas and diesel are shipped overseas 
     where the cost and profit are much greater. In all your years 
     in the Senate, what types of alternate energy other than 
     ethanol have you supported? Everything I read leads me to 
     believe than making corn-based ethanol uses about as much 
     energy as is produced. There are other crops (such as sugar 
     cane) and weeds that are much more energy-efficient to 
     produce. [Why has Congress only focused on mandates for] 
     corn-based ethanol?
       Thank you for any response.
     Steve.
                                  ____

       We own a small excavation business. We give our 22 
     employees paid vacation, medical insurance, and six paid 
     holidays just to keep those good, trained employees, that we 
     have been employing, most we have had for 12-27 years. Our 
     industry in Boise right now is as close to the bottom of the 
     barrel as we have seen in 30 years in business. We have had 
     years where we struggled to keep those good employees and 
     keep them working to support their families. But when fuel 
     and heating costs are going out of control, skyrocketing as 
     they are, we are second guessing whether we can stay doing 
     what we love, and what we are good at. That would, in turn, 
     take away the livelihoods of each and every employee we have 
     and ourselves.
       I am a woman-owned business, and in Idaho, they've even 
     removed the requirement for large General Contractors to use 
     a certain percentage of DBE or WBE's in their Federally-
     funded contracts. As of this year, there are no requirements 
     to help the WBE or DBE and now most of the General 
     Contractors are self-performing that work. So we small 
     companies are being hit very hard from all directions. In 
     order to recoup these costs we have had to raise our prices, 
     which, in turn, hurts everyone else and does not help us in 
     the bidding world, either. We have bid 60 projects in the 
     past two months and got two very small jobs, and we have bid 
     many with only a small percentage over our costs. Those 
     receiving the bids are several hundreds and thousands under 
     our costs. This cannot go on much longer before many of us 
     are priced right out of the market and out of business. When 
     you own dump trucks, excavators, backhoes, etc. that use 
     diesel fuel, which happens to be the most expensive, it is 
     staggering. Our fuel costs have tripled over two years.
       On a personal level, we rethink how and where we go. Both 
     my husband and I have no family here and must drive or fly to 
     visit them. Those trips are cut to one a year and maybe not 
     at all. I personally have always planned where I go to do 
     grocery shopping and plan my trip so I do not backtrack, and 
     use the best routes, utilizing the fuel to the best of my 
     ability. Even though that helps, with prices as they are, it 
     does not put a dent in it.
       We definitely need help--getting these prices back to a 
     livable level. Those individuals who are retired and on fixed 
     incomes, which I am nearing in the next couple years, are 
     even more critically hit. My parents are in their 80s and 
     struggle all year, as they were born in the years where their 
     Social Security payments are minimal and Congress decided 
     would be too extensive to repair. My mother, who has worked 
     since she graduated from college all those years ago and up 
     until she was 75, receives $300/month in Social Security. 
     [That amount is not enough to live on.] With medicines they 
     absolutely need to survive at their age, they are left with 
     little or no money for fuel in their small budget. It is not 
     only fuel for vehicles, but it is the fuel for our homes and 
     businesses as well. It is also the products we purchase. Pipe 
     is a petroleum product and it is sky high right now. Like I 
     said, it is hitting us from all levels and angles.
       This is very brief, but I felt I must speak up. If we do 
     not use our voices and sit back and do nothing, no one will 
     hear or understand our plight.
       Thanks for asking and I hope Congress will listen!
     Betty, Boise.
                                  ____

       Forget the sob stories. Do something! If nothing takes 
     place, [Congress should be prepared to hear from the 
     grassroots throughout the country, those who need solutions, 
     not more promises.]
     Larry and Rita.
                                  ____

       I would like to see exploration into better public 
     transport, and an emphasis on conservation before I'd like to 
     see any of the other alternatives that you have proposed to 
     deal with rising energy prices. I am fortunate to be one of 
     those Idahoans (at least for now) who aren't feeling the 
     pinch of rising energy prices. However, in a democracy, I 
     believe that Americans deserve to have choices besides cars 
     for their transportation needs. And, especially in a time of 
     the increasing peril of climate change, I believe that having 
     access to public transport and promoting conservation are 
     critical in this conjuncture in time. I know that these ideas 
     may not be popular, but if we are going to continue to 
     survive as a species, we need to ask ourselves how much of a 
     sacrifice we are willing to make. I have grown up in Idaho, 
     and have left Idaho, but let me tell you (as I am sure you 
     know), it is a special place, and we need to do all that we 
     can to protect the beauty of this wonderful state.
           Sincerely,
     Carissa, McCall.
                                  ____

       I have a employee driving over 75 miles roundtrip from 
     outside Caldwell, where housing is affordable, to Boise. She 
     cares for a spouse in poor health. She asked about 4 ten-hour 
     days. As a key employee in a small office, she needs to be 
     here each day. Small business does not carry ``fungible 
     positions'' where others can cover.
       A second point in your letter did not reach the bottom 
     line--Will you support drilling in ANWR and off the coast of 
     Florida? I do, even if we merely ``prove up the reserves''.
     Tom.
                                  ____

       We need to develop as many resources in this country and 
     build new refineries. Thanks,
     Mike.
                                  ____

       Not only has the price of gas affected what I pay at the 
     pump, but I also work in automotive repair when people have 
     to pay the higher prices. They drive less, which means they 
     do not come into my shop, and when they do, they cannot pay 
     to fix what they need.
     Leon.
                                  ____

       Please do not take the careless and short-sighted 
     ``solution'' that you propose to this problem. Please do not 
     drill for more oil and further damage this planet to the 
     point of no return. We need smaller cars, public 
     transportation, and alternative energy development. And [many 
     Americans would benefit by more exercise like walking.]
     Barbara Jane, Boise.
                                  ____

       My wife and I are on fixed income. We are retired at ages 
     69 and 66. The fuel costs have affected the cost to fly to 
     the point that we

[[Page S7145]]

     will not fly. We, therefore, conserve spending. That is good 
     for us, but not the economy. We strongly support the 
     development of alternatives to oil. We strongly oppose the 
     development of our own oil resources. We wish to consume as 
     much foreign oil as feasible first. We have moved to 
     improving our green choices. We strongly, strongly, strongly 
     oppose taxing the gasoline companies. Rather, we would offer 
     them large subsidies, tax breaks, etc. to become energy 
     companies, developing alternatives to oil. We saw the Brazil 
     story and their path to energy independence. We can do it 
     also. We also saw that the U.S. car companies are ready for 
     bio/electric fuel. Let us go. Assist industry and the people 
     who work, give industry incentives.
           Thank you,
     Ray and Rheda.

                          ____________________