[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 3, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1429-S1431]
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:

       First of all I appreciate all your efforts in this manner 
     and hopefully some relief will become of them. Secondly this 
     letter may be a bit different than most of the others you 
     have received. I, like many others feel the burden of 
     increasing fuel prices and wonder ``why'' prices have risen 
     so much in the past few months. I also have deep concerns for 
     the dependence of foreign oil this country is a slave to. 
     However, we Americans are for the most part, myself included, 
     are selfish, wasteful and will not give up our conveniences. 
     Therefore I personally do not mind the higher price of fuel 
     (but hopefully the prices will drop) in the aspect that 
     hopefully it will encourage people to be a bit more 
     conservative. I am fortunate that my wife and I live less 
     than three miles from where we work (separate business) in 
     the past we both have driven our vehicles. My personal 
     vehicle is a Ford F250 that gets 10 mpg. I have been driving 
     for the convenience, but recently we have begun riding 
     together (we also have a Ford Escape at 25 mpg), walking that 
     takes about 45 minutes, riding bicycles at about 15 minutes 
     and I also have a motorcycle that gets 55 mpg that I have 
     dusted off and begun to ride. So it is not all bad. I also 
     realize most people are not that fortunate. The things that 
     bother me the most are that in the land of plenty, our auto 
     manufacturers are still producing vehicles that get under 15 
     mpg; it is way past time for that to change. Domestic oil 
     production needs to be increased, but please do it sensibly. 
     Consider

[[Page S1430]]

     the environmental impact and make sure U.S. oil stays in the 
     U.S., and the fact that oil companies are reported to be 
     making record profits. Everyone is entitled to make a profit, 
     but profiteering is unacceptable.
       Sorry for rambling on but as you hopefully can see, I feel 
     the higher fuel prices are an opportunity for the American 
     ingenuity to kick in with more fuel efficient vehicles, 
     commuter options i.e., walking, carpooling, alternate 
     transportation, and alternative fuels so we as Americans can 
     reduce our dependence on oil and still satisfy our selfish 
     lust for independence.
     Greg Hosman, Bellevue.
                                  ____

       There are many folks on the edge of losing jobs simply 
     because they cannot afford the fuel to drive to work. Pairing 
     job opportunities and increasing availability of affordable 
     fuel makes sense. One tenth of one percent in a wilderness of 
     19 million acres is a smaller percentage per acre than a 
     person leaves on one camping trip. It is a small price to 
     pay. Please continue to support President Bush's desire to 
     restore reasonable economics to our country. Thanks for 
     standing up.
     Delpha Bush, Boise.
                                  ____

       I am strongly opposed to lifting the ban on off-shore 
     drilling and strongly against drilling in our wild areas. I 
     am also against the use of food crops for ethanol or any 
     policy that reduces the availability of food to the world 
     poor. I am very supportive of alternative energy and 
     government funded research in these areas. I am strongly in 
     favor of increased mileage requirements on vehicles. If 
     Europe can get 50 miles to the gallon, we should be able 
     to do so also. Thank you for your interest in this area.
     Laura and Bill Asbell, Post Falls.
                                  ____

       I moved to Idaho to go camping fishing day trips etc. . . . 
     now because of the gas prices I stay in Nampa most of the 
     time. I have a family and I work hard . . . I want to enjoy 
     life in Idaho again. Please if you can do anything to help 
     get life back the way it was that would be great. Thanks 
     again.
     Elbie Seibert, Nampa.
                                  ____

       Everytime I pass the gas station the price rises. Granted 
     myself and my husband chose to have the vehicles that we 
     drive, he drives a Chevrolet Duramax and I drive a Chevrolet 
     Surburban, but these are the vehicles that accommodate our 
     lifestyle of kids, dogs and camping. But when I see the oil 
     companies making unheard-of profits in the first quarter of 
     2008 it infuriates me! I would not be as upset if the oil 
     companies would be upfront with the price increase if they 
     were only breaking even in their numbers. But making over a 
     thirty billion dollar profit in the first three months of 
     this year is just wrong. Family trips to Eastern Idaho to 
     visit family has been cut back from monthly visits to once 
     every couple of months. We are lucky that we are not in the 
     situation of having to choose groceries over gas but if the 
     cost of fuel keeps climbing we will also be in the same boat 
     as other lower income families. I have worked too hard to 
     have the lifestyle that my family has for it to be sucked 
     away by greedy executives!!! My husband, my stepfather and I 
     all serve in the Idaho Army National Guard and we have 
     soldiers that are having a hard time getting to their units 
     due to the cost of fuel. Something must be done and I would 
     not be taking ``no'' for an answer. $4.00 a gallon of fuel is 
     insane. Nothing has been changed to the fuel to have our 
     vehicles preform better and no one is getting a cost of 
     living increase for this.
     Heather.
                                  ____

       I recently received an email from you requesting stories of 
     how the rising gas prices are effecting Idaho families. We 
     are a family of five trying to make ends meet on one income. 
     The gas prices have made this virtually impossible. We are 
     now looking at my husband either taking a second job or my 
     going to work part time to make ends meet. My husband's 
     commute to work is about 30 minutes and I drive the same 
     distance to take my children to activities four days per 
     week. We have a van and a truck and spend about $400 a month 
     on gas. Buying other vehicles is not an option because they 
     are paid for and we cannot afford a monthly car payment. 
     Moving closer to work is also not an option given the current 
     housing market. The other issue we have seen is the rising 
     cost of groceries as a direct result of the rise in gas 
     prices. It is getting harder to feed our family with the 
     rising cost of groceries and we are having to change the way 
     we eat as a result. We are now looking at cutting the extra-
     curricular activities for our kids to save on gas.
       We are very encouraged by your desire to persuade Congress 
     to start using the resources we have in our own country. It 
     is time for a change towards becoming more independent as a 
     country. We will continue to pray for success in your 
     efforts.
     Michelle Esquivel, Nampa.
                                  ____

       My 60-year-old daughter spent 23 years as an ``at will'' 
     employee and was fired for no reason. She was a Medical 
     Transcriptionist. After so many years the requirements 
     changed and when looking for a new position, found she was no 
     longer qualified. Longevity did not seem to matter. She drove 
     40 miles round trip from Caldwell at night to work in a small 
     hospital in Boise. This did not last very long as another 
     person got her job and worked at home, something that she 
     would have done had she been aware that her employer would 
     have agreed to it. Their sorry did not help. She then lived 
     off of her retirement at the same time supporting her 
     daughter and grandson. When she left her original job she 
     lost her insurance benefits and has not been able to afford 
     any. After her savings were exhausted she found a job 
     delivering the Statesman newspaper. She is required to 
     furnish her own car and gas. It so happens that her route is 
     rural and covers over 35 miles per night. I help out with the 
     gas as much as I can. As gas prices continue to rise she can 
     hardly afford to go to work and the wear and tear on her 
     car with all the stops and starts becomes another expense.
       I am 86 years old. My family came to Boise in 1861. I am 
     signing my name to this message but request it never be used.
     Unsigned.
                                  ____

       I want to encourage you to not support drilling in ANWR or 
     any currently protected Alaska lands. The high gas prices and 
     our dependence on foreign oil have been hard to stomach, but 
     I believe there are necessary lessons learned for the public. 
     We must decrease our insatiable thirst for natural resources 
     in this country. High gas and fuel prices have made people 
     think hard about changing their driving habits and some of 
     their domestic habits as well. Idaho Power has been 
     encouraging conservation for a few years now, much to their 
     merit, but I do not know how successful their campaign has 
     been. There have not been any great heating/cooling crises 
     yet such as brown or black outs to push people to change.
       Personally, I carpool to work with my husband just about 
     every day, unless I am on call (I work in a hospital). Even 
     though I work eight hour days and my husband works nine hour 
     days, I either walk over to his office and wait for him to 
     finish, I bring my running gear and take a run while waiting 
     for him, or I find something else to keep me busy for that 
     extra hour. Sure it's a little inconvenient. I have animals 
     to feed, pastures, a yard, and a garden to water and tend to, 
     and the usual chores one has waiting for them at the end of a 
     work day. However, I believe this small sacrifice is one I 
     can shoulder. Additionally, this means that I only have to 
     fill my small truck once a month. On other days, I try to 
     ride my bike to the store, post office, etc., rather than 
     making an extra car trip. If I have errands to run in my car, 
     I will combine trips into one big loop, on one day, to 
     minimize the amount and time I need to be driving. As far as 
     our consumption of energy at home, we are fortunate enough to 
     have lots of shade trees, a well insulated house, blinds on 
     all of our windows, and an efficient attic fan to keep our 
     house relatively cool on hot days. Last summer during the 
     extensive heat wave we experienced here in SW Idaho I charted 
     the high temperature for the day and the time our AC came on 
     for about 6 weeks. We keep our thermostat set at 79 degrees 
     while we are at work and decrease it to 76 or 77 for the 6 pm 
     to 10 pm time period. We were able to keep our house cool 
     enough 99 percent of those over 100 degree days that the AC 
     didn't come on until after 6 pm and ran only one to two 
     cycles before we were able to open up our windows to cool to 
     outside temps, which by 10 pm were usually below 77 degrees. 
     Our energy bill remained low for the whole summer due to our 
     conservation methods. I am doing the same this summer.
       I would like to add that, although I oppose drilling in our 
     last wilderness areas, I fully support conservation 
     incentives and ramping up research and support for 
     alternative energy sources, including nuclear. I hope the 
     proposed nuclear plant in Elmore County receives enough 
     positive support from the public to go ahead. Nuclear energy 
     technologies have advanced a lot since the 70's. I believe 
     with some education for the general public about its 
     increased safety nuclear energy can greatly reduce our 
     dependency on hydrocarbon sources of energy.
     Angela Callahan, Eagle.
                                  ____

       Fortunately, we have 2 Toyotas that get good gas mileage 
     and last fall I was transferred to work at St. Als, which is 
     very close to my home. So gas expenses for me have not been 
     as much of an issue as for others. However, in my work at the 
     outpatient pharmacy we have many customers who come from 
     Nampa, Caldwell, even Mountain Home, and for them to make 
     that drive is quite a hardship. Usually, it is specifically 
     to come to the doctor and/or pharmacy only; if they were not 
     coming for that they would not be coming to Boise at all. We 
     have had some prescriptions transferred out to pharmacies in 
     those communities because people cannot afford to drive into 
     Boise. So, it is hurting our business.
       I would like to see a better Treasure Valley-wide 
     transportation system to help people get to where they need 
     to go without having to spend a fortune. For some of these 
     people the choice is between medicine or food, and this is 
     not some exaggerated sob story. It is fact. I would also like 
     to see more being done to encourage and fund alternative 
     energy sources, more emphasis on hybrid cars, or even those 
     that run on no gasoline, but on something else that is less 
     expensive, less polluting, and easier to produce. The 
     initial cost of such a changeover would be enormous, but 
     the long term benefits would more than make up for this 
     total makeover of our energy sources.
     Cheryl Essary, Boise.
                                  ____

       First, I express my appreciation for your willingness to be 
     in Washington to not only represent Idaho but to help ensure 
     that we

[[Page S1431]]

     have men of high moral integrity making decisions about the 
     future of our beloved United States of America.
       With respect to high energy prices, I am very disappointed 
     that our Federal Congress has shamefully neglected their 
     responsibility to find a way to develop a national energy 
     policy before we arrived at this rather extreme condition. 
     Having worked as an oil and gas geologist in Houston, Texas 
     before returning to Idaho, I know that it has never been a 
     secret that our addiction to oil and natural gas was leading 
     us into trouble as the opportunities to explore for large 
     reserves continued to decline.
       As a nation, we have been so negligent about seeing past 
     the next election that our policies do not seem capable of 
     meeting the challenges of a world that is now interdependent 
     in so many ways. It has been and still is ridiculous to 
     remove so many regions of offshore from oil and gas 
     exploration and development. ANWR, in my opinion should be 
     developed and if we are successful in finding additional 
     resources there, use that for strategic reserves because we 
     all understand that it is not likely to be significantly 
     large in and by itself. Why is it so hard to communicate to 
     those who are extreme (including John McCain) in their 
     environmentalist/preservationist theologies that oil 
     companies can explore and develop resources with such a small 
     footprint that the ecological impacts are essentially 
     negligible?
       At the same time that I hear many in Congress calling for 
     the rights to explore in additional areas, I really have not 
     heard anything addressing the need to increase our refinery 
     capacity or to deal with the myriad of gasoline blends that 
     are required by EPA that reduce efficiencies in refining, nor 
     does there seem to be anything coming to rural America to 
     help with public transportation initiatives.
       The Federal Government's overzealous effort to promote 
     biofuels at the expense of food production seems to have been 
     a huge mistake. Why was a similar effort of support not 
     provided for oil shale or coal gasification etc.? With new 
     EPA regulations governing carbon output it seems that we have 
     added so much uncertainty into the business side of 
     developing alternative resources that the risks may outweigh 
     the potential successes.
       Also, information I have received from the American 
     Geologic Institute indicates that if the value of the dollar 
     had kept pace with the Euro and other world currencies, oil 
     prices would be in the $60 to $70 dollar range instead of the 
     >$130 level. It seems clear that we must find a way to stop 
     the declining value of the American dollar!
       You have an incredibly difficult job ahead of you as you 
     try to find a path that will lead to lower energy costs and 
     improved economic prosperity for all of the citizens of our 
     country. Our prayers are with you.
     Mark D. Lovell, Rexburg.

                          ____________________