[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 149 (Thursday, September 18, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9013-S9015]
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 to have today's letters 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

       My family runs a purebred cattle ranch. Two years ago, my 
     oldest son decided he wanted to join us in the ranching 
     business, so we doubled our cowherd and made some changes. It 
     was a challenge to feed another family, but one we were 
     willing to take. Last year, we had to refinance the farm to 
     get a little breathing room, but within one year, the margin 
     we gave ourselves by refinancing was gone with the 
     skyrocketing cost of feed, fertilizer, and fuel--all as a 
     result of the cost of fuel. Now our power rates have 
     increased, also. There was not money in the budget for my son 
     and he had to take a job in town. Now I am left with twice 
     the work and half the help.
       I have two other sons that stated recently a business 
     installing dairy lockups. They have taken on a lot of debt 
     for equipment and also have to support a family. Within just 
     a few months, they have seen the rising cost of diesel eat 
     into their business to the point that I think they will have 
     to take out bankruptcy and try to piece their lives together 
     afterwards. A pretty rough start for a 22-year-old newlywed 
     and an 18-year-old. They watch their spending, but right now 
     they are maxed out on their credit because of fuel costs and 
     cannot even afford to get to their job sites. All our 
     government officials need to be doing more. Absolutely open 
     up our own oil fields. We need more refineries and more 
     alternative fuel sources. I think hydrogen has excellent 
     possibilities. And Idaho is an excellent source of wind. 
     Something has got to be done and I mean now or this state 
     will blow away.
     Mike, Gooding.
                                  ____

       Short term: gas prices, depending on how soon we can start 
     pumping oil, let us start drilling and refining here in the 
     US. Same with nuclear power.
       Long term: Honda just announced a new hydrogen fuel cell 
     hybrid car that is three times as fuel efficient as the 
     current hybrids. Will not be ready for about ten years, they 
     say. Let us have these vehicles ready to purchase in three 
     years, not ten. Same with electric cars. And give these 
     businesses some kind of a [tax] break to keep the price of 
     these vehicles down so everyone can afford to buy them, not 
     just the movie stars in Hollywood!
     Rick.
                                  ____

       Please put politics aside and get serious about solving the 
     energy crisis. You are the leaders of this country. You are 
     representing the country very poorly. I am so amazed and 
     ashamed of the way our leaders are putting themselves before 
     the good of the country. Our forefathers were patriots! There 
     are a few of you that are trying to solve the energy crisis. 
     Quit throwing road blocks in front of those people.
       My husband and I are retired, and the high cost of fuel is 
     really hurting us. We live in a small town in Idaho, and we 
     do not have public transportation. It is not like living in a 
     city. Everything is spread out, so we have to drive almost 
     everywhere. We have no choice. We bought a fifth wheel and a 
     diesel truck when we retired. We planned on taking a summer 
     trip in our RV to the Oregon Coast, but that will not happen. 
     We just hope that we can take our RV to Arizona this winter. 
     We have saved all our lives for our retirement, and the 
     energy situation is wiping out our savings.
       Let us see action [to back up the words we hear from our 
     leaders]. Get off of foreign oil and become independent. Do 
     the right thing and plan ahead. If it takes ten years to 
     develop domestic oil wells, then get with it. This is a 
     serious problem that is really hurting Americans.
     Linda, Fruitland. 
                                  ____

       I am concerned about the price of energy. Gas prices have 
     gone up, and this is disconcerting and expensive. I am a 
     mother of three and a devoted conservative. Last year we made 
     plans to take a vacation on the Oregon coast this summer. 
     Since we made those plans, gas prices have almost doubled. 
     Now that we paid our deposit on the beach house, we cannot 
     really back out, and it is still unaffordable to fly a family 
     of five there, but we are afraid it is going to cost $600-900 
     in gas just to get there. When we made our plans, we were 
     thinking more in the $300-400 range. But if this sounds bad, 
     my brother and his wife who are going with us, both 
     schoolteachers, with their six kids between the two of them 
     (it is a blended family) will have to take two cars. So what 
     was once a fun affordable summer vacation is now in the 
     ridiculous range, just to get there, without food or hotel or 
     fees for anything fun.
       Why can't we drill for oil here in America? Why is our dirt 
     so much more sacred than the dirt in the rest of the world? 
     Let us look in our own country's wealth of resources to 
     address this issue.
       I am also highly supportive of exploring all our other 
     resources: nuclear, water, wind, coal, etc. I know there are 
     Native American reservations that want to build nuclear 
     plants and they have been forbidden because of safety 
     concerns. They should be allowed to build these plants, and I 
     believe Americans are committed to the safety of our citizens 
     in the process of exploring these other options. I am all for 
     nuclear energy, with it is cost effectiveness and 
     cleanliness.

[[Page S9014]]

       I also believe here in Idaho we should be jumping at the 
     chance to expand our public transportation in the form of a 
     light-rail train. At this time of expensive gas, it would 
     really be serving our community if we as citizens could look 
     ahead and vote for it. I have lived in Utah and utilized 
     their light rail (it runs full nearly every run) as well as 
     traveled throughout Europe on their train systems. The 
     convenience of traveling to downtown Boise from Meridian, or 
     to BSU would be great. Not having to worry about parking or 
     gas is wonderful. Can you imagine what this would do for the 
     students of the valley if they could take the train to BSU? 
     It was about four years from the time Utah voted it in until 
     they could actually ride it. Let us begin!
       Thank you for taking this issue seriously. Let us drill, 
     let us build a train, and let us build a nuclear plant here 
     in Idaho.
     Tawna, Meridian. 
                                  ____

       [Partisan policies have kept this issue from being resolved 
     for many years.] The solution has been very obvious for a 
     very, very long time. Simply ``explain'' to the oil companies 
     that they have a choice. That is to either pay a huge 
     windfall tax, or to immediately invest those windfall profits 
     in new drilling in all the areas we already know we have 
     an abundance of oil--and, by the way, process the huge 
     supply of oil shale--if you recall, they said, ``when oil 
     gets to $50 a barrel, it would be profitable!'' Well, what 
     have they been waiting for?!
       By the way, just the mention of this will cause the price 
     of oil to drop $50 a barrel, if not more! But [there is too 
     much special interest and environmentalist influence to take 
     this simple solution.]
       Plus, once you have that in place, the economy and the 
     dollar are immediately strengthened. The next obvious step is 
     to mandate that corn and other food stuffs will not be used 
     for fuel, such as ethanol. There are many byproducts and non-
     food stuffs that are easily accessible and readily available 
     that will produce that which is now obtained from corn. 
     Consequently, not only will the price of gasoline, diesel and 
     home heating fuels, etc. drop drastically, but the price of 
     food and other products will drop back into line.
       Of course, this would require that [partisanship be put 
     aside and that small minorities and special interest groups 
     take a back seat to the public interest.] Take action and set 
     this country back on track and bring its economy back under 
     control.

                 Like to hear from yuh . . . good luck,

     Bruce.
                                  ____

       Gas prices have affected my family. How have we responded? 
     We have chosen to conserve energy by driving less! We bike as 
     much as possible, and are more mindful of when and where we 
     choose to drive. In addition we drive relatively fuel-
     efficient vehicles. I disagree with the notion that we need 
     to invade every last corner of our wonderful country in order 
     to try to squeeze as much oil out of our domestic reserves as 
     possible. That approach seems very short sighted to me. 
     Clearly the heyday of cheap, readily available oil is over. 
     Not only is oil bad for the environment, but it is not 
     renewable. Our focus must be first on conservation. We should 
     be focusing on increasing mass transit opportunities in Idaho 
     and across the nation. We should also work on developing and 
     rewarding businesses that are developing new, innovative 
     green technologies such as electric cars. Secondly, we must 
     be focusing on clean, renewable energy resources such as 
     solar and wind power. But the major emphasis must be to limit 
     the wastefulness that we have become accustom to in this 
     nation.
     Kristin, Boise.
                                  ____

       This has been a great concern to our family and we have 
     wondered why there has not been more help from our government 
     with this problem. If it were just the gas prices it might be 
     something we could struggle through, but everything has 
     increased in cost, much of which, I believe, is a direct 
     result of the skyrocketing gas prices.
       Our family is a blended family. We live in Rexburg, Idaho, 
     but transfer children on two weekends to Logan, Utah, and on 
     the other two weekends to Salt Lake City, Utah. At least this 
     is what we are supposed to be doing. We were already spending 
     around $300-$400 a month in gas before the prices jumped so 
     high. We had to cut back our visits because we started going 
     more and more in debt just to put gas in our car. It became a 
     choice of securing our family relations and seeing some of 
     our children or putting food on the table, maintaining a 
     relationship with sons and daughters or keeping ourselves 
     from going bankrupt. There are children we see sometimes less 
     than once a month because of this. We cannot attend their 
     school plays, their sports events, and have even missed their 
     first dates and dances. There has been nothing we can do 
     about it and it has been very emotionally painful for all of 
     us. My last trip to Salt Lake cost $177 in gas. It made me 
     sick to have to spend that much just so I could see my 
     daughter graduate, and as I sat at the pump watching the 
     numbers climb, I knew I was just going farther into debt but 
     I could not imagine missing that event.
       Please, please keep trying to find an answer. We have fuel 
     resources here. Why are not we using them? Yes, we need to 
     protect the environment, but I do not think that will matter 
     much to anyone if we cannot buy food or drive to work. I see 
     articles all the time about cars that run on water or even 
     air. Is this true? If it is, why are they not available to 
     us? I believe there are answers and alternatives that do not 
     require using our food crop to fill our cars. I do not know 
     all the facts or have all the answers, but I do know that 
     we cannot continue this way. It will not take long to 
     become a bankrupt nation if we do not make some changes 
     and fast. Thank you for trying to resolve this.
     Beverly, Rexburg.
                                  ____

       I have lived and worked as an auto mechanic in Boise for 
     nearly 30 years. A couple of years ago I became ill and 
     suffered some physical damage, which has forced a change in 
     professions. I have taken some schooling and become an 
     instructor of auto mechanics.
       Finding a job as a new automotive teacher has been a 
     challenge, as there are few opportunities scattered around 
     the Treasure Valley. I now begin my second year of teaching 
     for the Canyon Owyhee School Service Agency, a consortium of 
     five small rural school districts. I am required to travel 
     among Parma, Notus, Wilder, Marsing, and Homedale High 
     Schools. I am proud of the students I am training, and feel 
     that I have found a worthy role to play in the lives of our 
     youth. The catch is that I must drive about 120 miles per 
     day. Because only one of these schools is equipped with an 
     actual auto shop, I must carry with me substantial weight in 
     tools, auto parts, training devices, and I have even towed 
     cars from time to time.
       My transition to teaching may seem like a logical move for 
     a man in my physical situation, but it has cut my income 
     considerably. I also carry the burden of residual medical 
     bills and the cost of the continuing education required for 
     my teaching credentials. I do receive a small mileage 
     allowance, for miles driven within the district, but those 
     are about half of the miles I drive. (Miles to and from my 
     home in Boise are excluded.) Obviously, rising fuel and 
     maintenance costs have substantially contributed to economic 
     hardship as I struggle to rebuild some kind of a career. Fuel 
     has risen in price more than eighty cents per gallon 
     throughout this past school year, so I now must pay about $14 
     each day, out of pocket, for my daily commute. I fear that 
     between the real issues of an inadequate teaching salary and 
     skyrocketing fuel costs, despite my efforts to remain a 
     productive citizen, I will be forced out of my home, or even 
     into unemployment lines.
     Kelly, Boise.
                                  ____

       My family and I have been affected in surprising ways by 
     the increase in oil prices. We have always tried to be 
     careful and conservative in our use of all of our country's 
     resources and oil and gas are no exception. So it was a 
     surprise to us that when our car's gas price went up above $4 
     per gallon, we were suddenly more thoughtful about how and 
     when we drive the car. We had thought we were as conservative 
     as we could comfortably be with the amount we drove the cars, 
     but it turns out that, overnight, we thought of many ways and 
     times that we could leave the car in the garage and take the 
     bus or ride a bike or even combine multiple trips into one 
     weekly trip. It is only been a short time that the change has 
     occurred and it has been in the summer time that offers many 
     options. However, we are very pleased with the changes and 
     are even considering getting rid of one of our cars as it 
     they are both now sitting in the garage so much of the time.
       I hope that this state and nation takes on the challenge of 
     giving greater and greater incentives to alternative/
     renewable energy production and that we can work toward 
     reducing greenhouse gases that this country is producing at 
     such high rates. We are a country full of creative citizens 
     and technological skills. I hope that we can start being a 
     leader in this area rather than the most slow of followers. I 
     know that this has not been your perspective but I hope that 
     you can see the advantages to our citizens and growing 
     technological community in supporting future climate change 
     incentive and decentive bills.
     Elizabeth.
                                  ____

       I now have a choice--medicine or gas, doctor appointment or 
     gas; I cannot afford both, health or gas. Guess I could go on 
     welfare and live off of the state. I drive ten miles to work, 
     my husband drives 30 miles (both one way). We could move, but 
     try to sell a house in this economy. So the middle class is 
     out of luck again. Please do something.
     Jo.
                                  ____

       Since the fuel price increases have become a part of my 
     day-to-day concerns, I have observed a $240 increase in my 
     monthly spending in fuel for my vehicle. I only use my 
     vehicle to go to work. I buy groceries within two miles of my 
     work place, and that is the extent of my driving. My 
     groceries are running about 40% higher, but I am sure that it 
     something to do with using our tax dollars to subsidized the 
     corn growers to build the ethanol plants what are of no 
     significant value other than to help someone's friend make 
     money and secure their job. But I digress; the subject is the 
     fuel pricing and how it affects me. In the past, I would 
     commute to Boise once a week and enjoy a dinner out because 
     there are no restaurants in Mt Home that [I enjoy], but that, 
     too, has past because of the fuel pricing. I am sure there 
     are others in the same situation, and it must be hurting the 
     restaurants and all other businesses in that area because we 
     are dedicating our money to the rising fuel costs. 
     Nevertheless, I will go on cutting my spending to accommodate 
     the rising fuel costs until something

[[Page S9015]]

     better comes along. No! I will not get rid of my Ford F-150 
     because I am a tall person and require the leg and head room. 
     I know that comes at a price but I would rather do that than 
     to sacrifice the comfort.
     Stephen, Mountain Home AFB.

                          ____________________