[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 13, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S335-S336]
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:

       Honorable Mike Crapo: My name is Brian Gross and my wife 
     Kelly and I have lived in Idaho since January as I graduated 
     from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and received a job 
     at Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls. We settled into 
     a comfortable fifteen hundred square foot town home and own 
     two cars that we both drive to work every day. Our extremely 
     short commute of 4 miles and 3 miles respectively requires 
     that we spend around $160 per month on gasoline. Though both 
     cars achieve no less than 20 miles per gallon in the city and 
     upwards of 32 miles per gallon on the highway, we would use 
     more than our entire month's budget for gasoline if we made a 
     trip to visit our relatives in North Dakota 800 miles away, 
     making a trip for the holidays a rather expensive venture.
       One would think after seeing the Hubbert curve peak near 
     the earlier part of this decade, you would want to begin the 
     move towards other sources of fuel for our vehicles. If the 
     OPEC embargo of 1973 was not enough, what will it take before 
     we make the shift? The wonderful businessmen of Toyota and 
     Honda appreciated the coming situation and conveniently 
     developed a car that would contribute greatly in allowing the 
     former to surpass all of the big three companies in sales of 
     automobiles for the first time ever in April 2007. Even 
     though GM and Ford have turned around with several hybrid and 
     electric car projects, that still leaves the transportation 
     industry vying for even more expensive diesel fuel. In my 
     opinion, the first step for Congress would be to drastically 
     subsidize the expansion of domestic biodiesel production. I 
     mention only biodiesel, because of the issue with corn based 
     ethanol cutting into our food supply. To counter that issue, 
     why don't we revitalize methanol, which can be produced from 
     garbage, as a fuel? Ford produced several vehicles subsequent 
     to the oil embargo which ran on methanol, so the concept is 
     proven, we just need to reestablish the fuel production 
     industry.
       As for electricity production, I as a nuclear engineer 
     strenuously support the expansion of nuclear power. The 
     loudening drum beat for action against anthropogenic climate 
     change, though I am not a advocate of the theory, has drawn 
     support for nuclear and public opinion is shifting in its 
     favor. Assuming that you are an avid supporter of the INL and 
     the nuclear industry, I would like to address my frustration 
     with Senator Harry Reid's ignorance and stubbornness of the 
     Yucca mountain repository. I hope you are asserting the fact 
     to him and his supporters that it is a repository, not a dump 
     as they keep calling it. I'm sure you've used the example of 
     the French as the right thing to do considering 80% of their 
     electricity is generated by nuclear, their waste is 
     reprocessed, and most importantly, they are energy 
     independent.
       Lastly, I would like to thank you for addressing the issue 
     of energy with the people of Idaho. I hope you will carry our 
     message to the Senate with great fervor and it will not fall 
     upon deaf ears.
     Brian J. Gross, Idaho Falls.
                                  ____

       Our family is affected very little. You see, Senator Crapo, 
     a year ago I was anticipating something like this and bought 
     a 35mpg Kia Spectra, with which my wife and commute to our 
     jobs 60 miles round-trip every day.
       About a year ago, I noticed how the value of the dollar was 
     on a steady decline due to Bush Administration policies 
     (Chinese debt to fund the war, flooding the globe with USDs, 
     unregulated futures commodities) and expected that since the 
     value of a barrel of oil was based on the USD, and the value 
     of the USD was on the rapid decline, I had better do 
     something fast. So I bought the best value in a high MPG 
     automobile that I could find, a Korean car. I would have 
     bought an American car, but again, I was looking for value, 
     and no American manufacturers could offer the same value as 
     South Korean made Kia. A shame.
       So, to answer your question--It has not affected us that 
     much at all. We were prepared because we could see the future 
     based on our analysis of Republican policies.
     Bruce Bacon.
                                  ____

       Dear Senator Crapo: Thank you for wanting to know what the 
     people think. Energy prices really haven't changed my life at 
     all. I produce almost all the power and hot water I need with 
     solar panels and have a solar charging electric car.
       Producing more oil in the U.S. will solve nothing as any 
     new supply will be bought by China and India. We need to 
     change fuel sources. Electricity will be the future fuel 
     source and it must be generated in Idaho by hydro/geothermal/
     wind/solar. Renewables are: Free fuel forever.
       Nuclear will only make us more dependant on imports. We 
     import 58 percent of our oil which is not a good thing. We 
     import over 92 percent of the uranium used to fuel nuclear 
     power plants. So, we should be talking about getting off our 
     dependence of imported nuclear fuel with the goal of shutting 
     down our nuclear power plants when the renewable generation 
     is in place.
     John Weber, Boise.
                                  ____

       I'm not going to bore you with sad tales of my life today. 
     I want all you folks in DC to tell the enviros they're 
     killing a country whose life and economy are based on oil. If 
     they want a perfect world in one national park from coast to 
     coast, find another country to do it in.
       Next, I want you to take crude oil off the commodities 
     markets. All that is is people making all the money they 
     possibly can and not having a care about what they are doing 
     to people worldwide.
       Is this asking too much of people elected to represent us 
     instead of listening to a minority that makes a lot of noise. 
     And if you're making money off of crude on the commodities 
     market, then I guess you'll get rid of this E-mail.
     Mike Arnold.
                                  ____

       I am lucky enough to work only 10 miles from my home. My 
     husband got a job at the same place as I, so now we can 
     carpool to work, saving on fuel. However, he is in the 
     process of getting hired on with the police force. We have an 
     SUV that we are in over our heads on in payments, as many 
     Americans are. We also have a dodge diesel that gets 18.0 
     miles to the gallon. We leased this vehicle and have 2 more 
     years left to go. The only reason we did this was because 
     gasoline was $3.00/gallon and diesel was $1.99/gallon. Then, 
     prices soared. We are no longer allowed to go camping, 
     hunting, riding our ATVs, or even go fishing. It costs too 
     much.
       Not only are we feeling confined to our home, but 
     businesses are suffering too. We are willing to pay a 
     campground fee to have fun, but we cannot even afford to 
     leave. We take our children to daycare, go to work, pick our 
     children up from daycare, and go home. On Sunday, we go to 
     church and come home. We do not have the luxury of going to 
     the store for fun anymore with the spare change we have. Our 
     stimulus check went into the bank to pay for future fuel 
     costs. By the way, it's gone now.
       I fully support the means of finding alternate energy not 
     only for fuel, but for electrical power as well.
     Stephanie L. Rovig, Middleton.
                                  ____

       I was around for the first ``energy crisis'' in 1973. A few 
     years later, Americans were again reminded that our oil comes 
     from ``over there,'' is a finite resource, and should be 
     conserved. But we did not listen. So here we are, thirty-five 
     years later, with another opportunity to change our driving 
     habits and our energy consumption. Switching to biofuels and 
     electricity is not going to help much: the production of both 
     consumes huge quantities of fossil fuels. Americans must 
     conserve energy. We must learn to think differently about our 
     energy consumption. We are like the dieter who loses fifty 
     pounds, looks great, feels great, and then slowly gains all 
     the weight back because he had not changed the way he thinks 
     about food. Americans get into ``feel good'' mode. We walk 
     conservation, talk conservation, and sometimes even drive 
     conservatively. But when the newness of higher gas prices 
     wears off, we go right back to overconsumption.

[[Page S336]]

       The government isn't going to help out long-term if they go 
     after the gas and oil companies. Okay, maybe their profits 
     seem a bit high in light of what everybody else is going 
     through, but ultimately, conservation will affect the market 
     and they'll have to turn down the prices. Government can 
     subsidize mass transit and price it so that it's the economic 
     choice. Government can reward conservation. Incentives for 
     auto manufacturers to produce energy conscious vehicles will 
     inspire research and could result in some little guy creating 
     the next great automotive company, one whose main focus is 
     energy conservation. We can change the ethos that drives our 
     American reliance on petrochemicals. We must change the 
     ethos, for the good of our planet and the social structures 
     that it supports.
       That is my story. Thanks for asking, Senator Crapo.
     Miriam I. Lyngholm, Moscow.
                                  ____

       Thank you for your proactive email on a critical issue. I 
     am usually the one emailing you (along with Larry Craig, and 
     Bill Sali) about whatever issue it is that I feel needs 
     attention . . . line the still porous Southern border!! My 
     husband and I have not done our usual weekly lunch out and 
     our pizza night. I find, if I am lacking something for a 
     recipe, I just do without it. Before the insanity of the 
     current pump prices, I would just hop in the car and head to 
     the store to get the missing item. That usually interpreted 
     itself to a minimum $20.00 purchase, because you always see 
     something to just ``pick up while I am there''. But, no more. 
     I find I incorporate as many errands in one trip as possible. 
     I am definitely driving less, eating out less, and shopping 
     less, even at the grocery.
       Do I like this? Not one bit, especially when it is as 
     unnecessary as it is. We have resources in this country that 
     have not even been explored. Drill off the Atlantic. I have 
     lived on the Florida Gulf coast. I know what a spill does, 
     but the technology and safe guards are far superior to what 
     they used to be! Move the limit out a bit, then explore. How 
     about the shale available in Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado? I 
     do not advocate destroying beautiful places at all. There are 
     ways to return the earth to its previous state. We don't 
     ``scalp'' the forest anymore with clear cutting. We have 
     learned forest management. The same can be true of retrieving 
     the oil from shale. Why then, does it take 2 years just to 
     get the air permit to start up in those states? We won a 
     world war in just twice that time. Surely, we can push paper 
     faster in this crisis. Our economy is being crippled . . . 
     one family at a time.
       I hope you will vote to start exploring/drilling at a 
     sensible distance off our shores . . . but START! The other 
     issue is the free reign of the futures/commodity speculators 
     and their part in all of these inflated prices. This has not 
     happened before on this type of scale. Wasn't there some 
     regulation in place that was done away with in the late 
     1990s that opened the way for this pillaging that is 
     happening today? I implore you to take measures to stop 
     these people who are inflating these prices and lining 
     their pockets at the pain of others.
       Thank you for writing and for your vigilance on the border 
     (even though nothing is happening), and the gas price issues.
     Virginia Carter, Boise.
                                  ____

       Should be an easy one for your office to track. Follow a 
     bbl of oil from AK, MT, WY, ND, SD, PA, TX or CA from the 
     wellhead to the service station. You may not be able to 
     publish what you come up with. . .
     Rodger Colgan.
                                  ____

       I read with sadness your email on the poor plight of us 
     Amercians being consumed by rising Energy prices. Your aim at 
     getting more exploration for energy reserves misses the 
     entire problem.
       The problem is not that Gas prices, have gone up. Nor have 
     housing prices or food prices increased.
       You are looking at the symptom of a much bigger problem. 
     What has changed is that the value of the dollar has 
     decreased. As pegged by the price of gold, silver and the 
     eruo the dollar is worth less than it was in 2000. At that 
     time gold was about $250 per ounce, the Euro was $.92 and 
     Silver was somewhere around $5.00. Today Gold is near $900, 
     Silver around $17 and the euro is around $1.55.
       So Gas should be about $5.76. Given that the price of gold 
     has gone up over 3 times and so has silver.
       The problem Senator is that the value of the Dollar or more 
     accurately that Federal Reserve Token that most Americans 
     refer to as the Dollar has declined.
       It has declined because of the overprinting by the Federal 
     Reserve who at Congresses request asks them to print more so 
     they can borrow these fictitious dollars and pay back the 
     private bankers called the Federal Reserve at an amazing 
     profit.
       When you measure gas prices and food prices against real 
     money as defined by our constitution, i.e. Gold and Silver, 
     gas in real terms is about a $1.60 in 2000 terms.
       One could argue that the price of Gold has also gone up in 
     price but that is missing the point. Money as defined is a 
     store of labor. A dollar as defined by our constitution is 
     25.8 grains of gold. You cannot inflate or deflate gold or 
     silver. They are what they are. Sound. The Federal Reserve 
     Tokens most Americans refer to as dollars, on the other hand 
     is printed as fast or as slow as the government who borrows 
     it. The Federal Reserve then charges interest on something 
     that has been created out of thin air. What a business that 
     has got to be. That is why the founders established a sound 
     currency backed by gold. In 1913 Congress fell for a scheme 
     to take the people's money. In 1929 Roosevelt created a 
     banking holiday to convince the people that taking sound 
     money from them would save the country. The people obviously 
     confused by the recent events and nearly 20 years of 
     advertising by the Federal Reserve Banksters were convinced 
     that they should give up good money for worthless paper 
     currency.
       Let me give you an analogy most Americans might understand. 
     Let us assume you are playing monopoly. We will give you a 
     special player's piece let us call it the pig. The pig is 
     playing like all the other players, however you, as the pig 
     get to the coveted piece of real estate called Boardwalk. On 
     realizing that you don't have enough money to buy Boardwalk 
     you simply take some from the bank (Federal Reserve) and buy 
     it. Now the other players (THE People of the U.S.) that you 
     are playing with do not see you do this. However, after many 
     more rolls of dice you seem to never run short of money. You 
     simply go to the Federal Reserve and grab some more monopoly 
     money. Now other players cannot seem to keep up. Their money 
     is worthless. IN fact you have so much you simply bid up the 
     price of anything you want to buy. This of course creates a 
     huge disadvantage but you don't care you are the Pig, er 
     government. Now the bank is asking for you to begin making 
     those huge interest payments so now rather than the other 
     players getting $200 when they pass go you pass a new rule 
     and the other players get a bill for $200. Doesn't seem 
     fair does it? Well that is what you and the other 
     congressmen have been doing for the last 90+ years.
       So here we are today with Congress borrowing paper currency 
     or debt instruments that the Federal Reserve gets to charge 
     the people interest on. This Business by the banksters is 
     something for nothing Banking Scam.
       Real Money, Gold and Silver, does not change over time. It 
     is sound, it is fair and when this country was founded some 
     230 years ago it changed an economy that was in the shambles 
     to one of stability.
       Today what does change is how many dollars Congress borrows 
     to fund the occupation in Iraq, Afghanistan and the other 700 
     bases we have around the world.
       The only real solution to this is to go back to a Gold 
     Standard, and abolish the Federal Reserve, which is neither 
     Federal nor are there any reserves. This private banking 
     system, coupled with you and congresses overspending is what 
     has put our economy in a tailspin that is much like the 
     created disaster of 1929 and 1979.
       Now the world no longer wants our debt and since we have no 
     real money to pay it back with. The solution is to get back 
     to a gold backed currency that the world can respect and 
     trust.
       It is nice that you congressmen and women point fingers as 
     to the symptoms of the problem but you need to be pointing 
     the fingers at yourselves who have allowed the problem. You 
     have allowed President Bush and Dick Cheney, to run amuk with 
     a blank check book spending money on a war that was never 
     approved by the spineless Congress.
       You can pass all the laws and resolutions you wish but they 
     are just window dressing. Until we get sound money and 
     Congress takes responsibility for allowing Dick Cheney to run 
     the white house then we will continue to see our wealth 
     erode.
       My hope is that you pull all the troops home, shut down all 
     the bases and put this country on a sound money system by 
     eliminating the Federal Reserve. Until you stop printing and 
     spending Federal Reserve Tokens on guns and butter the dollar 
     will continue its free fall until the people's wealth has 
     been confiscated by the over printing of the currency.
       May God bless you Congressman if you stand up to this 
     charade created so long ago. For our country to survive you 
     must take a stand.
       If you don't take a stand, if no one stands up for the 
     values our founders instituted so long ago, then I fear that 
     our country will become just like other 3rd world countries 
     whose governments have stolen the people blind with fiat 
     currencies like what we have here in the United States.
       Good Luck.
     David DeHaas.
                                  ____

       Like you or any other politician in DC really cares about 
     the common folk who sent them there. You all could have set 
     forth changes to allow more exploration and development of 
     our own oil/gas in such areas as off the coasts and in ANWR 
     but you didn't. So I ask you again why bother acting like you 
     care, you don't pay for gas in your car or try to buy fuel to 
     run your farm or truck.
     Albert Morrison, Ammon.

                          ____________________