[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 184 (Tuesday, December 9, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10831-S10833]
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 well over 1,200, are 
heartbreaking and touching. While energy prices have dropped in recent 
weeks, the concerns expressed 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,

[[Page S10832]]

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 am one of the owners of Doug Andrus Distributing in Idaho 
     Falls. We operate nearly 270 trucks, hauling freight all over 
     the United States. As you are probably aware, energy prices 
     are taking quite a toll on trucking companies across the 
     country. I have recently been made aware that nearly 1,000 
     trucking companies have gone out of business in the 1st 
     quarter of this year. The combination of high fuel prices and 
     a slow economy has made the trucking business very difficult. 
     Because of the slow economy there is too much supply in 
     trucking making it difficult to pass on the increased costs 
     primarily driven by fuel.
       In September of 2005, our company's fuel costs reached $1 
     million. Today they exceed $2 million on nearly the same 
     amount of business. We are looking for every way we can find 
     to get better fuel economy. Most recently we have slowed our 
     truck speeds to 62 MPH. While this should result in great 
     fuel savings for our company, it potentially will reduce the 
     total income of our drivers as they will struggle to drive 
     the same number of miles in the driving hours they are 
     restricted to. Drivers are paid per mile. Therefore the 
     paychecks for 270 Idaho drivers will likely decrease while at 
     the same time their cost of living is increasing due to 
     increasing costs for fuel and food.
       We have got to realize in this country the serious 
     consequences of our energy policy. The highest priority must 
     be to increase production of petroleum within our own 
     borders. We must open more areas to drilling and we must 
     build more refineries. We must also renew efforts to develop 
     nuclear energy to take some of the demand away from oil.
       I appreciate your concern for this issue. I watch closely 
     the way you handle these issues and am very supportive of the 
     positions you have taken. I hope the high prices will 
     encourage Americans to let their voices be heard so that 
     Congress will make policy that will encourage activities to 
     alleviate the pressures on energy prices.
           Respectfully,
     Jason, Idaho Falls.
                                  ____

       Keep up the great work, Senator, and let us decorate our 
     beaches before the foreigners do. Besides, windmills and 
     derricks are beautiful!
     Merle.
                                  ____

       I am a single mother of two with one full-time job and one 
     part-time job. Between the two jobs, I work approximately 56 
     hours a week. Because of the high gas prices, I will work my 
     part time job longer than I had originally planned. We have 
     cut back on grocery shopping, going out to eat, 
     entertainment. We have a large video library and use that for 
     entertainment. It is just too expensive to drive anywhere. I 
     am scared what will happen once the gas prices reach an 
     amount that will not allow me to drive anywhere. I cannot 
     afford the prices right now and keep cutting back on spending 
     on other important things like food and utilities. I feel 
     poor and I am not. I wish the government would do what is 
     right and protect American consumers at the pumps.
     Nikcole.
                                  ____

       First of all, allow me to thank you for not only listening 
     to your constituents when we have contacted you in the past, 
     but also for soliciting our opinions now when energy crises 
     face us.
       I have taught at a small school 38 miles south of where I 
     live for the past seven years. I love where I teach and I 
     love my students. However, this last month I have applied for 
     a job in my home town due to the doubling of gas prices. I 
     have tried to convince my district to go to a four-day school 
     week, like some surrounding districts have done, but they are 
     not interested. Thus, as a commuter, I have made the tough 
     decision of leaving the job I love simply because I cannot 
     afford the gas bill.
       Five Priorities for Congress:
       1. Free America from foreign oil dependency.
       2. Stop tying America's hands: loosen EPA regulations and 
     government restrictions for drilling, building refineries, 
     and bringing existing refineries up to code.
       3. Allow responsible drilling for oil in ANWR and off the 
     coast. Take advantage of the shale in the Rockies.
       4. Seek alternatives that do not harm Americans (i.e. corn 
     for ethanol when we are facing food shortages across the 
     globe).
       5. Explore nuclear and clean coal options.
       I personally believe the current energy crisis has been 
     crafted and perpetrated by the far left Eco-jihadists. They 
     will promote their ``green earth'' agenda to the detriment of 
     American interests and our entire economy. When gas prices 
     are high, people drive less, and thus Environmentalists are 
     ecstatic. The clearly Marxist overtones in all of this carbon 
     footprint mumbo jumbo (cap & trade = the redistribution of 
     wealth) is frightening only because Congress has begun to 
     listen to these anti-capitalists and sponsor/pass legislation 
     reflecting their alliances.
     April, Lewiston.
                                  ____

       In the past couple of months the gas prices have really 
     affected me and everyone around me. My brothers took over my 
     dad's cabinet shop about a year ago and the economy has taken 
     such a dive that they do not have any work and had to lay off 
     my boyfriend. My boyfriend found another cabinet shop that 
     was still busy, but within 2 months he was laid off again due 
     to lack of work. We went another two months with only my 
     part-time income before he was able to find work again. We 
     cannot afford gas to get to work so we are riding our bikes 
     to work. We have shut off our phones and are still struggling 
     to pay for groceries, and are paying all of our bills late. 
     We are racking up credit cards for groceries or gas when we 
     have to. We used to be a very active couple that would go 
     camping, back-packing or mountain biking all over the western 
     region, and now we only ride our bikes to work and are too 
     tired to go on the trails after work. We only walk the dogs 
     through the neighborhood instead of going up to the hills and 
     letting them run and play and we are not able to go on any 
     trips this summer. I know that there are lots of other people 
     suffering more than we are, but not being able to live our 
     normal lives is extremely hard and frustrating when we watch 
     the gas companies getting richer as we are all suffering.
       Gas companies are reporting their highest profits while the 
     economy is nearing a dangerous low; someone needs to step in 
     and stop the gas companies. If they were smart, they would 
     lower gas prices again so that more gas would be bought. 
     People are not going on vacations or buying anything that is 
     not necessary. If gas was affordable, we would be traveling 
     every weekend, buying more groceries, and splurging on date 
     nights or clothes that I do not have to get but just want. 
     The more the money is returned into the economy, the more 
     jobs are provided which, in turn, is more people with money 
     who are able to spend more. The gas companies may be too 
     blinded by greed to realize that this all comes full circle 
     to them because the more products that are bought the more 
     products are needed to be shipped across the country which 
     takes gas to get to us either in a truck or a plane. At the 
     rate that we are going, the lower and middle classes will end 
     up in depression status, unable to survive, and the rich will 
     become the middle class and eventually end up with the rest 
     of us because the economy depends on the lower and middle 
     class to survive. The wealthy get their money from the 
     spending habits of the lower classes and if there is no 
     money, there is no spending and the economy crashes.
     Brandi.
                                  ____

       I have a different angle than most who will likely write to 
     you with concerns about rising gas prices.
       I work out of an office in my home, providing customized 
     training to clients around the world. Since I do not commute 
     to/from work, you might think that I am not concerned about 
     higher prices. However, even though I do not drive my car 
     much for work, the dramatic cost increase is affecting me and 
     everybody else because virtually all of our day-to-day cost 
     of living expenses are directly tied to the cost of 
     petroleum--many of them in multiple ways causing the 
     increases to be multiplied.
       Because of the work that I do, primarily coaching 
     technology commercialization professional, I am aware of so 
     many energy-related technologies that are being developed in 
     the research laboratories across the U.S. and around the 
     world. And many other countries are taking a much more 
     proactive stand to assist in bringing these exciting new 
     innovations a state where they can be highly beneficial to 
     all of us, save us a lot of money, and be helpful to the 
     environment, etc.
       Each and every U.S. citizen--democrat, republican, white, 
     black, Jew, Christian, Muslim, male, female, young, old--
     stands to benefit greatly by our government taking 
     appropriate measures to get the U.S. on a faster track to 
     more effective energy production, distribution, and use.
     John, Idaho Falls.
                                  ____

       I do not know that a single story can convey the 
     frustration, anger, hardship and disappointment that I (and 
     others) I talk to are experiencing as a result of the current 
     state of the ``energy economy''. It affects my family, my 
     business, my customers, my employees, my neighbors. Without 
     being over melodramatic the effects are deadly. The most 
     frustrating part is that many of us believe it is not only a 
     self-inflicted wound, but that we continue to reload the 
     weapon and offering handing it over to others to shoot us as 
     well.
       Cap and trade, gas tax holidays and windfall profit taxes 
     are some of the most asinine ideas to come around the pike 
     since James Earl Carter introduced us to malaise. There has 
     to be someone who understands that a centralized economy does 
     not work to alleviate market problems, but only makes them 
     worse in the long haul.
       Please do your part to pass some sensible rules to protect 
     the natural environment, establish an economic environment 
     that gives some certainty to the people and companies that 
     will invest in identifying and producing market driven 
     energy, and please, please do your part to get the Congress 
     out of the way so Americans can do what Americans do best--
     solve the problem.
       Sending our capital to the Middle East to pay for energy 
     that we have in abundance on

[[Page S10833]]

     the land and on the shelf does not speak well for our 
     collective intelligence.
       Unleash the sleeping tiger of free-enterprise.
     Ron.
                                  ____

       Drilling for oil now is our only hope. It is out there; it 
     is what we need; go get it! I am encouraged this morning that 
     John McCain wants to drill off shore again. All of the 
     conserving, all of the money being invested in testing new 
     technologies is not going to cut it and it is no substitution 
     for what we really need: OIL! Wind and electricity are not 
     going to power my car or the many other things that need it. 
     Depending on oil from the Middle East is shameful. Please 
     tell Congress to allow production in full force offshore 
     California and in the Gulf, Alaska and in the mid-west now 
     and start repairing the old refineries and building new ones. 
     It needs to be on the fast track; in other words do not take 
     years writing an environmental impact statement. It can be 
     done safely and with minimum impact to the environment.
       It is very sad that I am no longer able to travel to visit 
     my 78-year-old Mom in northern Arizona, a trip I/we used to 
     make twice a year. This is distancing families more than 
     ever. I may never see my other family members in California 
     or Minnesota again unless gas prices drop. I am a 56-year-old 
     widow struggling to make ends meet. I have had to give up 
     driving any long distances. I only drive for local errands. 
     It is a struggle now to pay heat, electric and food bills and 
     it will only get worse. But heck, my family and friends are 
     in the same boat; they cannot afford to visit me either.
       I am sadly watching the elderly and disabled attempting to 
     walk or ride bicycles to the grocery store that should not. I 
     am seeing empty shelves at the grocery stores and other 
     merchants because the trucks have not come in or are not 
     coming as often. This is nuts.
       My husband admired you; if he were here now, he would be 
     the one who had a lot to say about the current situation 
     America is in. You met him on a boat in Lake Coeur d'Alene 
     quite awhile ago. He had much knowledge of our current 
     situation as far back as the 1970s and predicted as did many 
     others our current situation. He died of a brain tumor in 
     1999. His resume included work in Libya, Alaska, the Gulf, 
     offshore Santa Barbara working for Baroid, and over 30 years 
     of government service with the U.S. Geological Survey and 
     Bureau of Land Management.
     Carol, Moscow.
                                  ____

       In response to your energy prices email--the increase for 
     gasoline has been tremendous for my husband and me. We both 
     are senior citizens, but still have jobs and go to work every 
     day. Bob is a realtor and spends $100 minimum per week. My 
     cost is $50 plus, even though I do not use my vehicle for 
     work. We live about 14 miles from our offices, and we do not 
     have economy vehicles. We probably could not even sell our 
     cars right now. I work on commission and my paycheck for last 
     month was $256; that barely covers the $200 plus for 
     gasoline. Both of these businesses are down right now.
       We totally agree with your thinking on this--keep up the 
     good work. Why cannot others get it??
     Cheryl, Coeur d'Alene.
                                  ____

       Feeling the pinch is an understatement. I am very eco-
     friendly as much that can be afforded; however, when you 
     weigh in the costs for the current prices, it makes it close 
     to impossible to save to afford to be more eco-friendly. Thus 
     creating a further pinch on my way of life. We are setting 
     back those in our economy and simply making it more difficult 
     to do business. From my aspect, I oversee four hotels in the 
     area and not only is airline travel being down causing an 
     issue to our hotels but the overall cost of operations has 
     risen. These operational costs have been from the increase in 
     food cost many sur-charge related to fuel, to a higher rate 
     of pay to incentive employees to drive that car to work every 
     day, the list can go on.
       Personally, I am a single mother and all the costs of my 
     child are that for me to provide. The smallest incremental 
     raise in cost creates stress in our way of life. We have to 
     wage out some other wise ``affordable'' fun things to do if 
     driving is (and as I love to see Idaho) involved. My gas 
     costs have nearly doubled, food is costing more, and there 
     are limited options other than facing these and dealing with 
     them at face value. I would love to see there be more 
     alternate fuel options so that we are using only what is 
     necessary when it comes to oil.
       I support anything you are doing that will make the world a 
     more friendly environment and reusable environment; my 
     greatest hope would be for this evolution to also allow more 
     of my money to stay in my home.
                                                           Shawna.
       Thank you for the opp. Our small business is fairly new, 
     started in 2005, when we changed venue from a motel. It has 
     never been a million dollar enterprise, but we did not expect 
     that and did not need that; just hoped it was something we 
     could hand to our kids when we retire. Every time the gas 
     prices went up, business went down. Then the foreclosures 
     started. Now many of our customers are gone. Some are even 
     going back to California! We are now contemplating 
     bankruptcy. The energy costs are a large part of the reason 
     why. We have a small second hand store where we also sell 
     hand crafted furniture and our pottery. When someone comes 
     into our store with a LIST! we know things are going down the 
     tube. This is the kind of store people normally spend time 
     browsing in. Very few customers can afford to just shop 
     anymore. They are struggling to buy gas to even go to town, 
     and to buy groceries. I suggest an investigation into 
     hydrogen power. It was going well in 1978, then no more was 
     heard about it. We are promoting it to anyone who will 
     listen, and I am going to spend time investigating; not just 
     the feasibility of it, but the how. It is now a definite 
     option.
       Thank you for listening,
     Nancy, Priest River.
                                  ____

       I just want to say that as a Disabled American, I feel the 
     pain!! My wife of many years works for the City of Boise 
     while I am disabled and we are no longer moving forward. She 
     works hard at the Water Treatment plant everyday and I battle 
     my conditions equally hard and yet as I fight, the more it 
     costs, electricity for my oxygen machine, co-payments to 
     doctors offices, procedures, medications . . . etc. Now with 
     this INFLATION hitting, we are feeling the effects of $4.00 
     gas, higher utilities cost across the board, food prices and 
     on and on.
       See the thing is, we have been preparing for this for 
     awhile now. Back in 2004 we traded in our 1994 Ford Taurus 
     SHO @ 16 MPG Premium Fuel for a 2004 Honda Civic Hybrid that 
     has gotten us to a real 40 MPG regular fuel. About the same 
     time we moved closer to Sandra's work to save on daily 
     driving. We even went to riding trikes to the Pharmacy and 
     the grocery store, and my wife additionally rides hers to 
     work now a couple of times a week or so . . . and yet we are 
     using savings and have even cut back on putting funds that is 
     matched by the City of Boise. We will be in trouble in a few 
     years unless something changes. I do not know what our 
     government is going to do, but I believe that if they gave 
     some sort of incentive to buyers to get into hybrids as well 
     as the new clean burning diesel ala Europe. We could improve 
     the oil situation, we have cut our usage by more than you 
     would believe. Drilling up north is happening next door in 
     Canada, what is up with us? We need to be making changes that 
     the rest of the plant sees. We could help the USD to bounce 
     back some and that would help reduce the cost of gas.
     Pete.

                          ____________________