[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 7, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S163-S165]
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 
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:

       Thank you for your newsletter regarding the current problem 
     of gasoline prices. I am a widow living on Social Security 
     income. My car is a 1981 Volvo. Driving my car has almost 
     come to a standstill. I drive only for necessities. I feel 
     like a bear hibernating over the winter. The idea of buying a 
     new car with better mileage is out of the question for me.
       As to the things our Nation should be doing--these include 
     drilling for oil wherever available, using oil shale, 
     developing nuclear power, windmills, biofuels. Using corn for 
     ethanol is the craziest idea of all. The commodities market 
     is hitting new highs almost daily. With the floods in Iowa, 
     we cannot afford to use corn for oil. The animals that need 
     corn for food are affecting our prices in the grocery store. 
     Get rid of regulations that cause energy companies to take 
     years to develop energy or cause no action because of the red 
     tape of government.
       Blaming the oil companies for so-called obscene profits is 
     nonsense. Taxes on gasoline are more than profits per gallon 
     of gas that the oil companies collect. Exxon has even said 
     that they are closing some stations because of non profit. It 
     is sad that many do not understand the basics of economics.
       The American public has spoken. Stop listening to the 
     environmentalists. Because there has been no foresight, we 
     are suffering now for the lack of action by those in the past 
     who we elected to represent us. Both parties are responsible, 
     but blaming does not get the job done.
       It is embarrassing to read that France has developed their 
     nuclear power while we just sit and talk about it. It is sad 
     knowing that foreign countries are acquiring leases to drill 
     for oil in our backyard, while we just sit and watch what is 
     going on in the Gulf of Mexico and grumble about it. It is 
     humiliating to hear those who say we are becoming a third 
     world nation. Americans are known for their innovation.
       Gasoline prices are affecting food prices, small businesses 
     and the cost of all goods and services. Independent truckers 
     are suffering. We rely on them for delivery of our food and 
     goods to market. If their numbers decrease because of their 
     cost of doing business, it will cause an additional increase 
     in prices or possibly the disappearance of some goods. I do 
     not think we want that to happen to our food supplies.
       The time has come to act. Now is the time. We must not 
     waste time. The public is begging for some common sense to 
     solve these problems. Egos must be ignored lest we suffer 
     more. Corporate America knows how to solve these problems. Do 
     not hinder them any more with government red tape.
     LaVergne, Hayden.
                                  ____

       Our family lives about 30 miles from Idaho Falls where we 
     do most of our business. My daughter and I also drive about 
     32 miles each way to our places of work so we are impacted 
     every day. Our best guess is that we are spending about $400 
     per month more now than we did when gas was $2 per gallon. So 
     far our response has been to curtail vacation traveling and 
     reduce other unnecessary purchases.
       Solutions (in order of preference):
       1. Pursue increased domestic oil drilling including off-
     shore and ANWR and encourage construction of more refineries. 
     I believe environmental concerns have been greatly 
     exaggerated and need to be evaluated based on their cost 
     effectiveness relative to their impact on the cost of living 
     versus risk to our quality of life.
       2. Pursue alternative energy sources only as far they are 
     cost-effective. If bio-fuels need to be subsidized in order 
     to maintain production, they are obviously not cost-
     effective.
       3. Pursue nuclear power generation (we are 20 years 
     behind). There is also potential for hydrogen as a by-product 
     that could be used as an alternative to gasoline. I have 
     doubts about wind generation as a cost-effective alternative 
     energy source, and I personally do not care for it is adverse 
     effect on the natural beauty of Idaho's landscapes.
       4. Pursue improved coal-fired electrical generation. I also 
     have serious concerns regarding the apparent race to reduce 
     CO2 emissions at any cost when there is so little 
     real evidence that proves a correlation with global warming 
     (also unverified).
       5. Encourage more mass transit systems in our larger cities 
     and offer incentives for their use. I was in San Diego, 
     California last week and the traffic was absolutely mind-
     boggling.
       6. Encourage better individual planning and carpooling 
     across the nation. There are way too many of us making 
     unnecessary trips to the store and letting our kids drive to 
     school every day when we have buses making the same trip, but 
     I suppose this will

[[Page S164]]

     take care of itself eventually when the price of gas gets to 
     around $6 per gallon.
       Thanks for asking and thanks for your service to Idaho,
     Wade, Hamer.
                                  ____

       We are an independent pharmacy and offer free delivery 
     service to our customers. Medicare, Medicaid, uninsured and 
     indigent customers are all included. We are seriously 
     considering charging for this service or eliminating it all 
     together due to excessively high fuel prices.
       Along with fuel cost, Medicare issues, such as slow pay and 
     low pay, are making it really difficult to stay in business. 
     We have no control over our reimbursement prices and are told 
     to take it or leave it. All of these price increases must be 
     passed on to the consumer somehow if we are to survive. Drug 
     companies are raising prices too.
       Thanks for asking for input.
     Kent, Twin Falls.
                                  ____

       We appreciate your concern about the rising costs of 
     energy. As you say in Idaho we live quite a distance from 
     most of the things we do. So the rising cost of gas has made 
     a big impact on what we spend for transportation. We would 
     encourage you to do whatever is necessary to make the changes 
     in the current laws to allow exploration and drilling for oil 
     including oil shale process. We have billions of gallons that 
     cannot be tapped because of all the government red tape. We 
     have supported the foreign suppliers long enough. Many of 
     them are supporting terrorists who are enemies to us and our 
     way of life. It is way passed time Congress became 
     accountable for the restrictions they have placed on 
     exploration and oil production. Do all you can to help this 
     situation.
     Boyd and LaDene, Ucon.
                                  ____

       While the rise in petroleum prices is certainly a hardship 
     to many people in Idaho, I do not know what else would have 
     finally prompted a serious discussion about alternate energy 
     sources and about seriously conserving energy. I usually ride 
     a bicycle to work and drive an 18-year-old Honda Civic, which 
     gets 44 mpg on the highway. If the entire U.S. auto fleet got 
     similar mileage, I believe we could drastically cut our oil 
     imports. The technology for more fuel efficient vehicles has 
     been around for quite a while--that technology has not been 
     encouraged and is currently not utilized. Here is an excerpt 
     from Miller's Living in the Environment (8th edition) 
     textbook written 10 years ago: ``Since 1985 at least 10 
     companies including Volvo, Volkswagon, Renault, Peugeot, 
     Honda, Mazda, Toyota and General Motors have had peppy 
     prototype cars that meet or exceed current safety and 
     pollution standards with fuel efficiencies of 67 to 138 mpg. 
     If they were mass produced their slightly higher costs would 
     be more than offset by their fuel savings . . . We can have 
     roomy, peppy, safe, gas sippers, but only if consumers begin 
     demanding them and buying them. (p 452).''
       With encouragement from the government, we could do even 
     better than this. However, we do not seem to change our 
     wasteful energy behavior because it is logical or because it 
     harms the environment. We do it because we have to and cannot 
     afford to do otherwise. Only economic pressure will force us 
     to let go of our addiction to driving 2-3 ton SUVs, usually 
     with only one person inside, commuting 20 miles to work and 1 
     mile to the store when walking or biking would do. People in 
     Europe drive smaller cars and use much less oil per capita--
     but they have been paying $5 or more per gallon for a long 
     time. Drilling more holes in the ground to extract the 
     remaining reserves of oil in the U.S. faster, would only 
     serve to delay the change in consumption of petroleum that we 
     all must make. Subsidizing alternative energy development 
     makes good sense. Solar, wind, and biofuels, along with 
     conservation should receive highest priority. Nuclear power 
     would seem to be the best ``bridging'' source of energy--if 
     it were not for the problem of handling wastes. You might 
     want to look at the International Society of Doctors for the 
     Environment's resolution on nuclear energy, March 2007 
     (http://201.116.215.170/isde.org). Further research on 
     handling nuclear waste should be encouraged before 
     constructing more nuclear power plants. Had we put 
     significant effort and resources on alternate energy during 
     the past 20 years, the adjustment to higher oil prices now 
     would not have been so painful. We will need to use a wide 
     variety of energy sources to replace the declining and 
     increasingly expensive petroleum. People will adjust to the 
     higher prices of gasoline by car pooling, taking public 
     transportation, moving closer to work, buying more fuel 
     efficient vehicles, making less needless trips, and many 
     other ways. I recognize that this is not the kind of personal 
     story about how high oil prices are hurting me, but I thought 
     you should be aware of a different view of the oil price 
     crisis.
       Thank for asking for input.
     Roger.
                                  ____

       My husband and I live in Salmon. He will be 69 June 22nd; I 
     am 70. He is a recovering heart patient; I am a declining 
     COPD patient. We are on a fixed income (Social Security) and 
     are both under the care of specialists, who practice in 
     Missoula, Montana, 170 miles away. We cancelled our 
     appointments last month with our doctors because we simply do 
     not have the money for gas. It is a sad state of affairs when 
     a person cannot afford to visit their physician because gas 
     is (as of today here in Salmon) $4.25. I think it is time to 
     start drilling. Perhaps even open some of our reserves.
       Thank you for offering this site for folks like us to share 
     the hardship this is causing not only in our lives but 
     everyone in our community.
     Connie.
                                  ____

       One of the ways that my husband and I are coping with the 
     increasing gasoline prices is that my husband is riding his 
     motorcycle to work to reduce gasoline consumption. What I do 
     not like about this situation is that it increases his 
     chances for a fatal accident while commuting because of the 
     increased danger of not being seen by the numerous other 
     drivers in a high traffic time.
       We should be using our own domestic resources for oil in 
     all ways possible (drilling and shale) and we should build 
     nuclear power plants. France is a good model for very safe 
     and productive nuclear resources.
     Debra, Boise.
                                  ____

       Thank you for asking us everyday Idahoans how high fuel 
     prices are affecting us on a daily basis. My husband and I 
     were just discussing this two days ago, about how and where 
     we can cut down in order to shift the dollars to gasoline. 
     First off, we are retired and on a fixed income; so that 
     means when the price of one thing goes up, another thing will 
     have to go down. We spend an average of $100 a month on gas. 
     That, I know, is small compared to other Idahoans, and that 
     is because we do not have to drive to work.
       Since gas has doubled in one year, we have to come up with 
     another $100 a month to cover the increase. First, we ended 
     our gym membership, which was costing $45 a month. Well, that 
     is as far as we got. We do not know what else to cut down on. 
     So we are in the hole $65 monthly. I am going to see if I can 
     cut down on food, as I have seen the prices of food going up, 
     too. I know my electric bill, water bill, and gas bill will 
     be going up, too. It is very scary for us.
       Other things we are doing is grouping our trips together. 
     This does offer a challenge due to logistics and time. And 
     the impact of this cannot be calculated by any means, so I do 
     not know what the effect of that will be.
       Other things we are trying is not eating fast food anymore. 
     This is upsetting especially to me, because sometimes I just 
     do not have the energy or the desire to cook. Going to a fast 
     food was my respite.
       We also are not planning to make any day trips to other 
     cities in Idaho anymore. We are new residents of Idaho, and 
     wanted to explore its beauty this summer, when the weather 
     was warmer. Last year, we were able to drive to Bogus Basin, 
     Silver City, McCall, and Tamarack, and also explore the Boise 
     National Forest. After all, is not that what retirement is 
     supposed to be? However, we stopped talking about those 
     trips. We even opted not to go to the next city over, Eagle, 
     to experience our first Eagle Days fair, due to the drive.
       In other words, Senator, our driving today has been limited 
     to just essential places, such as the grocery store and 
     taking our Labradors to the nearby creek for a swim, which is 
     the highlight of their day and we just cannot take that away 
     from them.
       We were planning on buying life insurance for my husband, 
     who is 63 and 13 years older than I am. Currently he has no 
     life insurance. We are newlyweds (just 1 year), and I am 
     always worried about what will happen to me when he dies. We 
     have bills to pay, and the funeral costs alone average 
     $7,000. After doing research comparisons, the best insurance 
     we could get was $125 a month for just $100,000 of life 
     insurance. We wanted to buy more insurance, but at $125 a 
     month, that was all we can afford. Now, even that is on hold. 
     That presents a daily worry for me, as my husband is active 
     and can get hurt anytime.
       We must open up America for the oil companies to dig. I am 
     so upset with the current EPA guidelines, which seem to be 
     more concerned about protecting animals (like the caribou and 
     the polar bear) than of the survival of the human race, 
     especially the elderly like my husband and myself. Quality of 
     life? There is none anymore, but the caribou and the polar 
     bears have a great quality of life, do not they? I remember 
     my early Bible days when in Genesis, God told Adam, ``All 
     this is yours for your use'' (paraphrasing). Man is the 
     highest earth form yesterday, today, and always will be. I 
     truly believe that everything around us is meant to be used 
     to our advantage, with minimum and common sense protection.
       I would also like to see a nuclear plant in Idaho. We have 
     so much land here, with the nearest civilization miles away. 
     Nuclear plants are safe. I know that. If having a nuclear 
     plant here in Idaho will help Idahoans with lower energy 
     costs, then that is what I want. My husband agrees, too. If 
     the other states are too liberal or too scared to put one up, 
     then that is their problem. Right now, my concern is for me, 
     my husband, and Idaho.
       Thank you so much for letting me speak. I really appreciate 
     that. In my last state, that is unheard of. That is one of 
     the reasons I love living in Idaho.
     Stella, Meridian.
                                  ____

       A few years ago when we had another crisis with fuel, the 
     Feds stepped in and made a national speed limit to help 
     conserve fuel. I think it is needed more now than then. Stiff 
     enforcement penalties would need to be set up for each state 
     for enforcement.

[[Page S165]]

       Also many years ago we had glass bottles and people 
     employed in glass factories making them. We could save a lot 
     of petrol by getting away from so much plastic. Glass is far 
     easier to recycle than plastic and it is reusable.
       It is time [Congress got past partisanship and figured out 
     how to solve these problems]. They should be paying us by now 
     not the other way around. Let us put an end to the financial 
     handout to them and start using those funds to build our own 
     country.
     Lucian.
                                  ____

       Thank you for your recent communication regarding your vote 
     on the climate change bill. I must say that I disagree with 
     your decision, despite being spared an increase in gasoline 
     costs. With 5 kilowatt-h/ sq meter of solar income, in 
     addition to our hydroelectric power and category 4-5 wind, 
     Idaho should be a net green energy exporter. Just because the 
     oil companies, in times of record profits, decide to squeeze 
     the consumer, does not mean we can make the short-sighted 
     choice to think only with our wallets. We need an energy 
     policy that provides true security--a diversified portfolio 
     of energy sources--not continued investment in a delivery 
     system that is outmoded, wasteful, and polluting. I am 
     stretched in this economy, but I would gladly put out the 
     extra money for the long term solution of improved air 
     quality (have you seen the brown air over the Treasure Valley 
     recently), cutting off money supply to unstable Mideast 
     regimes, and a chance for my son to have a functional 
     environment in which to live. Please stop making short-term 
     political decisions when you have the opportunity to show 
     true leadership and thoughtfully consider how to achieve a 
     sustainable future for our country. It is not too hard for 
     us, for heaven's sake, we are Americans!
     Lisa, Boise.
                                  ____

       The cost for fuel oil has gone from $.60 per gal. to over 
     $4 per gallon, raising my monthly heating costs in the winter 
     from $85 to $353 per month. I also drive around 40,000 miles 
     per year for my job and while costs have skyrocketed, the 
     business deduction has not, which is, in fact, a tax increase 
     to go with the punishing costs. To add to these problems, my 
     wife's mother, who lives in Dillon, Montana, has cancer, and 
     lives at her trailer home for now. She is on Medicaid, has 
     limited options for care and depends on us for many things. 
     It is a six-hour drive. We get reasonable good mileage but 
     that country, with the unpredictable weather, has a negative 
     impact on our 26 miles per gallon. The cost of the trip has 
     gone from $100 to $400 in just the last year and \1/2\. My 
     wife stayed home and raised our children while I provided for 
     them so she has no Social Security. I am self-employed, so 
     there is no retirement waiting except for what I can provide 
     and I have used that to pay my taxes till it ran out. My wife 
     was injured very badly 2\1/2\ years ago without insurance and 
     I must pay the county back over the next 15 years. I realize 
     that these things are adversity and I can, with hard work and 
     the blessings of God, overcome them and still succeed. The 
     biggest obstacle in my way is the very government that has 
     sworn to uphold and defend the constitution that was inspired 
     to protect me. Those who are bent on a socialistic society 
     are destroying my hope for a future and the hope of my 
     children.
     Richard, Caldwell.

                          ____________________