[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 176 (Wednesday, November 19, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10640-S10641]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page S10640]]
                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 well over 1,200, are 
heartbreaking and touching. While energy prices have dropped in recent 
weeks, the concerns expressed from June remain very relevant. To 
respect the efforts of those who took the opportunity to share their 
thoughts, I am submitting every e-mail sent to me through an address 
set up specifically for this purpose 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:

       I was/am in full support of your GPRA Energy Legislation. 
     You were right on. Please continue to fight for energy 
     independence for Idaho and the U.S. This is essential to our 
     national security and prosperity. It is never too late to do 
     the right thing (even if we should have done it ten years 
     ago). Please keep the pressure to allow Congress to vote on 
     crucial energy legislation. We deserve to know how our 
     Congress stands/votes on important issues like this. I am 
     also in favor of the President calling an emergency session 
     of Congress to pass energy legislation. It is that important.
       Drill here, drill now, pay less.
     Teresa, Twin Falls.
                                  ____

       Since July 11, [2008,] crude oil prices have declined over 
     16% yet gasoline prices at the pump have remained steady. 
     When is Congress going to start putting real pressure on the 
     oil companies to stop gouging the American consumer? If 
     Congress wants to turn the economy around, then start by 
     addressing energy prices. The oil companies raised gas prices 
     as crude oil prices escalated but there is no indication that 
     the reverse is true as crude prices continue to come down. 
     Enough is enough.
     Galyn.
                                  ____

       You have expressed a desire to hear of our experiences and 
     hardships with the rise in gasoline prices. I have a daily 
     routine when I get to work. I get online and check for recent 
     news on gasoline prices and so forth. The next thing I do is 
     check on local gas prices by utilizing Mapquest.com. It is 
     severely disappointing to see that our eastern Idaho gasoline 
     prices have stabilized at $4.12 a gallon when the national 
     average is below $3.90 a gallon, according to a recent 
     yahoo.com article. Be that as it may, $3.90 is still a harsh 
     amount. This has become a pain not only economically but 
     domestically as well. Between my wife and I for the last 
     month and a half, there has been strife about our finances 
     and being able to afford the next meal, the bills, and all 
     that we wish we could do to make an advance in finances. 
     Colleagues and friends would argue the same domestic 
     problems. So you see that this problem is not only hurting 
     America economically but socially as well.
       I have done my part in decreasing the amount I drive and 
     the amount of times I fill up on gasoline but this can only 
     go so far. I bought a scooter back in June just before 
     gasoline prices hit $120 a gallon and it has saved a 
     percentage of what we would have spent on filling our car. 
     Americans are aware of the problem and doing what they can 
     with reservation to consequences that may arise in their 
     conservation efforts. The question is not ``what should 
     Americans do to avoid the high prices in gasoline?'', rather; 
     the question is ``Why is the American government not making a 
     reasonable effort to free its people from economic 
     desperation?''
       Start drilling now; let us build up a reserve and release 
     the current one, let us start looking for alternatives and 
     renewables. Our understanding will progress as the science 
     behind these progresses.
       Sincerely,
     Michael, Rexburg.
                                  ____

       Since I do not have unlimited income (I am an underpaid 
     Idaho teacher), or someone paying my fuel bills, the rising 
     cost of gas and diesel is taking spending money out of our 
     pockets and into our tanks since we need to drive to perform 
     many daily activities. We also spend less at other retailers 
     since the money went for fuel. We also get less for the same 
     dollar at the store since the price of goods has gone up due 
     to the rising costs of shipping using diesel fuel which is 
     the most expensive and should be the cheapest since it costs 
     less to make and comes off first in the processing of crude 
     oil to fuel. When we spend less the retailers get less and it 
     becomes a vicious circle. Let us start using our own oil and 
     uncap the wells in our country just sitting there. The 
     wildlife will be just fine in Alaska and elsewhere as long as 
     we are careful while drilling and transporting the oil. We 
     need to quit fueling the Arab terrorist groups by buying 
     their oil at inflated prices or at all. Do not tell me the 
     Saudis are our friends. The only thing they like about us is 
     our money.
     Mel, Post Falls.
                                  ____

       Why do not the forces to be work together to get this 
     solved--or is there no representation for improving the 
     energy quantity?
     Jim.
                                  ____

       We received an email at work stating that you would like to 
     know how we felt about high energy prices, along with ideas 
     on how to improve the situation. The energy prices are a 
     nuisance to me. I can handle the $50 per week it takes me to 
     get to and from work. What concerns me are my neighbors who 
     may be on the edge, or who need gasoline to make a living 
     (trucking, farming, construction).
       To me the solution seems simple. Increase the supply. Let 
     us drill in ANWR. A vast majority of Alaskans favor the 
     proposition. We could do so in an environmentally responsible 
     way. Let us drill in the area between 50 miles and 200 miles 
     off the coast in those areas where the population is for it. 
     I understand in Virginia, most are in favor of it. I 
     understand that we are the only country that prevents its 
     people from doing this. And, by the way, why have not we 
     opened a refinery in the last 25 years? Many say that even if 
     we drill in ANWR, we will not see any oil for 10 years. That 
     may be, but if we had acted 10 years ago, we would be reaping 
     the benefits of it now. Besides, that might convince foreign 
     countries who have raised their prices so much that we are 
     serious about using our own resources and it may convince 
     them it is time to lower prices. The solution to energy 
     problems is going to take leadership, not short-sighted 
     thinking.
       Also, we need to start building power plants powered by 
     nuclear energy. A power plant that uses petroleum for its 
     power source should no longer be allowed to be built. We can 
     no longer afford to waste petroleum like that, nor should we 
     pollute the air with those wastes, when we can capture and 
     process all nuclear wastes safely.
       Of course we can use solar energy including wind where 
     feasible, but that will not solve our energy needs in the 
     future.
       We should also not use crops that we need for our food 
     supply to produce ethanol, especially when it takes more 
     energy to produce the ethanol that we receive from the 
     resulting fuel. No wonder food prices are through the roof.
       Some want to blame oil companies for making excessive 
     profits. A profit of 6 to 8% does not seem excessive to me. 
     When did it become illegal to make a profit in this country? 
     Higher taxes will not lower the price of gasoline. Let us 
     level the playing field and remove excessive regulations. 
     Sure, global warming is taking place, but we are not the 
     cause of that. It has to do with solar cycles. Spend a winter 
     in Idaho if you want to see global warming at work. The 
     farmers I know had to plant late this season because their 
     fields were covered with snow. The temperature in the world 
     decreased last year. It did not increase. Global warming is 
     not the problem. High energy prices are crippling the 
     economy. The polar bear population has increased, not 
     decreased. We are being sold a bill of goods that we cannot 
     afford to buy.
       I know that the liberals are against everything I have 
     proposed. We are opposed to their supposed solution of 
     raising taxes. So does that mean that we have a stalemate and 
     nothing is going to be done? We need leadership.
     Norman, Idaho Falls.
                                  ____

       I own a small 5-employee, garbage company that services the 
     cities of Kuna and Melba and indeed the recent run up in 
     diesel prices from $3/gallon to the current $4/gallon in the 
     last ten months has been a major impact on my business of 
     transporting solid waste for my small communities. I have 
     seen my fuel bill increase by nearly $4,000/month, a 63% 
     increase in that time frame.
       As difficult as that is for me, the run up in prices has 
     had a major impact on my employees and their ability to come 
     to work and this is so true for all of Idaho's employees, 
     particularly those on the very bottom of the economic scale 
     of which there are too many in Idaho.
       I could go on longer, but you know the impact. More 
     importantly, I think you need to hear from your constituents 
     regarding the solutions. We need a Manhattan-style project to 
     electrify our transportation sector of this country. We need 
     tax incentives for production and purchase of electric 
     vehicles.
       We need tax incentives for wind, solar, lithium ion 
     batteries and electric motors (retrofitting out current gas 
     fleet with electric drive trains will provide a sustainable 
     new job creation and a finance business model that will be a 
     boon to our poor, who are being priced out of transportation, 
     and this will be paid for from displaced fuel dollars from 
     foreign oil purchases). We need to re-industrialize the USA 
     to create high paying jobs in the energy sector that will 
     give us sustainable energy so we can get out of our many oil 
     entanglements throughout the world.
       Our nation mobilized itself to re-tool its whole industrial 
     base during WWII to create a war machine, plus provide all 
     the oil needed to win that war in the short span of 4-6 
     years. In the same short time frame we have

[[Page S10641]]

     bankrupted ourselves in this senseless oil war in Iraq. We 
     need to understand that we need to get off of fossil fuels.
       We can and we have to do better. The country needs strong 
     leadership and I have watched you, you are a person of 
     integrity. You can give us the leadership, even though it 
     will not be the party line. I pray you have the courage to 
     make a difference.
       The American public deserves a choice to our energy needs 
     and tax incentives for solar and wind energy for our homes, 
     will take us in that direction. I know this is not consistent 
     with the Big Business energy and automobile business model, 
     but I think they do not see the wisdom of making hard 
     changes, tough choices and creating our own energy future.
       The whole period of deregulation we have just gone through 
     has not been healthy for our country. Deregulation, from 
     Enron to sub-prime lending is bankrupting our country. For 
     the past 60 years the housing market has been stable and 
     predictable. Deregulation has been regulation for the wealthy 
     and well-positioned. We cannot continue to steal the hope for 
     the middle class on the back of the rich.
       There have been two major fallacies foisted on the American 
     public. One is that tax cuts will stimulate jobs and drilling 
     oil will reduce gas prices. The wealthy citizens of our 
     country and the oil companies can be multi-national citizens 
     and their allegiances are to their own wealth accumulation, 
     just a factor of human nature.
       We do not have nationalized oil, therefore oil drilling 
     will benefit the oil companies and the highest bidders in the 
     world market, yet the American public is led to believe, oil 
     drilling will have an appreciable impact on our local gas 
     prices, but indeed the nations with more wealth, able to bid 
     and buy the commodity will benefit. We are a debtor nation, 
     unlike China. Producing our own source of energy is critical 
     to changing that reality.
       Tax cuts given to the wealthiest of our nation, without a 
     requirement that those tax cuts be re-invested in the USA 
     leaves those individuals the option to take those tax cuts 
     and invest them in the country of their choice, wherever they 
     can get the best return, again leaving the human instinct of 
     wealth accumulation to play out.
       If we invest our tax cuts, in our own country and our own 
     energy interests, that will create local high paying jobs, we 
     will be investing in our own future, taking us out of the 
     status of debtor nation.
       By the way, I, as well as Warren Buffet, am in the tax 
     bracket that was advantaged by the big tax cuts, and I and 
     Warren Buffet have both felt we would be glad to forego those 
     tax cuts for a strong economy.
       Again, I ask that you have the courage to engage with any 
     in congress, in a bipartisan way, who is of a like mind to 
     take us to energy freedom. Jay Inslee the representative from 
     Washington State is a great proponent of energy issues and a 
     person like you, who is a person of integrity. I pray that 
     our representatives in Washington will have the sense of 
     urgency required to take the bold steps needed for the 
     American People.
       As well, I might suggest, your staff get the hearing 
     minutes from a Senate hearing held this week on the energy 
     grid where T. Boone Pickens gave testimony where he stated 
     ``we cannot drill our way out of our current energy crisis'' 
     proposing wind energy as a major part of the solution. It was 
     a very enlightening hearing.
       Thank you for your concern for the plight of your 
     constituents.
     Tim, Kuna.
                                  ____

       As a person living on a fixed income, I find that the 
     soaring costs of energy in all forms are creating a 
     considerable burden on me. With gas at $4 per gallon, the 
     cost of everything is sky rocketing.
       The U.S. is being held hostage by two bit dictators in the 
     energy market. And it is unnecessary. We are a country that 
     put a man on the moon over forty years ago, yet we have not 
     found ways of using our abundant coal resources in an 
     environmentally safe manner, and I am not seeing anything 
     being done about it. Why?
       We spend hundreds of billions on foreign oil imports yet we 
     allow a few vocal nuts to keep us from developing our own 
     resources. We must tap the oil in the Alaska Wildlife 
     Reserve. Contrary to their claims, oil production and 
     wildlife are not incompatible. The noise and bustle of 
     drilling will cause the animals to leave temporarily, after 
     the drillers leave and the pumps and pipelines are in place 
     they will return.
       We are often told that the lack of refinery capacity is 
     also a cause of high gas prices. How many new refineries are 
     currently under construction? How many are planned? When was 
     the last completed?
     Alfred, Twin Falls.
                                  ____

       I wrote a response to your email about energy yesterday and 
     as I sat here another issue presented itself to me. This is 
     on a community level. My wife and I (with bad forethought) 
     bought The Roxy Theatre in Cascade. I say the above because 
     now many people do not have the extra money to spend seeing 
     movies or plays or concerts. Now after two years, seeing my 
     available credit shrink, and energy costs of my theatre go 
     up, I am looking at hard choices. I have chosen not to hire 
     employees back. This further hurts the overall economy as 
     there are 4 people who now have to find jobs. I have tried, 
     but I cannot find a way to end this bleeding. The power 
     company asked and got two very large rate hikes. Why are we 
     spending almost 2/3 of all the fuel refined in the USA making 
     power for the grids? We have been cut in the heel by a very 
     small but loud group of people who say we should have no more 
     reactors in the USA. Enough--the good of the few do not 
     outweigh the good of the many. We have always been a nation 
     formed on that. From my grandfather to my dad to my service 
     in the military, I know that. I have served for the good of 
     the many. I am still a police officer for the good of the 
     many. It is sure not for the pay. I read bills all of the 
     time that you all are debating on the Hill. I laugh; we spend 
     millions of bucks to help out some performing arts center in 
     New York. I provide the same arts to Americans too. I guess 
     we are too small in Idaho or Cascade, I should say. We could 
     all sit around and cry the blues, but nothing gets done. I 
     put on my uniform 4 days a week and my theatre clothes 7 days 
     a week, 364 days a year. I do this because it is for the good 
     of the many. [I think earmarks should be allowed for projects 
     that provide for the good of the many and my theatre would 
     qualify for assistance.] You, sir, are elected to serve. I 
     hear it just as much as you do. I do not mean that I am your 
     boss. I mean we put you there because we feel you can fix it. 
     I feel, given the responses you have seen, that Idaho's gems 
     have given you the ways to fix the problems you asked about. 
     We have to all give something up. Again, I have not asked you 
     to put me on a spending bill for aid to my 1939 theatre that 
     I am sure will not make it through the year. The small 
     business will not make it that long. When something big 
     happens to this country, everyone asks for federal aid. Major 
     snowstorms happen here, and it is not even reported. Four 
     inches of snow in Florida and every news channel is calling 
     it a disaster. We want this fixed before there is not debate 
     about it. . . It will be a disaster that no one will have 
     thought could happen. Many politicians say all of the time 
     small business is the backbone of the USA. We are all hurting 
     in this town. We are all getting close to going under. No 
     joke, come up here, I will buy you a movie. I'll show you 
     around like when the mill closed in 2000. We are on the 
     threshold of something very bad. Thanks for your time, I know 
     like me you do not have much to spare.
     Jason, Cascade.

                          ____________________