[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 28 (Wednesday, February 11, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2138-S2139]
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:

       We are your typical lower middle class family. My husband 
     has a good job at FedEx where we are blessed to have good 
     insurance benefits and stability; he is on the bottom of the 
     totem pole, however so the wages leave something to be 
     desired. I used to work for a local childcare center where I 
     got free daycare for our 1-year-old son and was able to 
     contribute an income. Last summer we were in a tight but good 
     place in our lives and decided to purchase our first home. It 
     is not much (it is a humble home) but it is ours. We moved in 
     a week before Christmas and though things were very tight we 
     were still doing ``ok''. We got pregnant again in January and 
     were very excited. After all we were making it. Then in March 
     I lost my job and the economy really started to hit us hard. 
     Our tax returns were spent getting my car fixed, and our 
     incentive package paid the mortgage and some bills. We were 
     thankful that that money was there when we needed it but it 
     was not spent as the government intended. We applied for 
     public assistance while I looked for work but found out that 
     we overqualify by only $60 a month. This was frustrating 
     considering most of the people in the waiting room were not 
     here on a legal basis but their children (born in the U.S.) 
     have right to the same assistance I was applying for. They 
     pay no taxes because they are not here legally and are not 
     required to report their income so of course they qualify and 
     the funny thing is that I saw several drive away in nicer 
     cars than even my parents own. I take in a child or two into 
     our home to bring in some income because I do not have a 
     degree and cannot find a job that pays more than daycare 
     costs.
       On to gas prices: I drive a Ford Focus, an affordable 
     economical car, and my hubby has his old F-150, which is one 
     of the only assets we actually own. We do not drive big fancy 
     cars that take hundreds of dollars to fill up. My focus cost 
     $43 dollars last time I filled up (last Monday night) and my 
     hubby's truck costs around $65-$70. That may not be a lot to 
     you or anyone with a better job than we, but it is a lot more 
     than we paid last year at this time and it is almost double 
     to fill up my car from what it was when we got married (two 
     years ago in October). Honestly, Senator, we pray our way 
     through every month. It is an honest miracle that we still 
     have our home and that we have made our mortgage for the last 
     4 months. My husband works 12-hour days so the only logical 
     solution was for me to look for a second job. It took a while 
     given that no one wants to hire a lady who is 6 months 
     pregnant. But I am blessed to have found a job at Cracker 
     Barrel being a part-time waitress and working when my husband 
     gets home to take our son and, with the help of family, we 
     make it work. As you can imagine, it does not pay much 
     ($3.35/hour and then tips). I hate this arrangement, and I 
     have not been working there long enough to see the benefits 
     of having two jobs but I keep thinking that if I just keep at 
     it then maybe we can get caught up and maybe even save enough 
     money to pay the mortgage when I go on maternity leave in 
     October. This is a long shot.
       If gas prices (among other things) were lower it would help 
     alleviate some of the strain on our family. The cost of food 
     has gone up, though, too. If both of those things could be 
     what they were, I may not have to work two jobs never seeing 
     my husband and worrying about if I am going to do something 
     bad to my unborn child by driving my body so hard. Even if it 
     were only gas that went down, we might be able to swing it 
     with just one job once we get caught up. Anything would help 
     us at this point. I work any odd jobs I can find in addition 
     my others. I went and counted votes when the elections took 
     place in May and I made $40, not much but it adds up if you 
     save it! I know we are not as bad off as a lot of other 
     people but we are not doing as well as we let people think 
     either. Who wants to tell their friends and family that they 
     are on the verge of losing everything? We are walking a tight 
     scary line and if we fall off we are screwed. We just keep 
     praying and working hard and so far God has not let us down. 
     I know he will not but I do not know what his definition of 
     ok is either. Maybe you could be the blessing we have been 
     praying for, a small piece of a very big problem but like I 
     said even a little bit can help a lot.
       Thank you for your time,
     Kristi, Boise.
                                  ____

       I travel about 20 miles each direction to work. It is 
     really hurting me financially to continue paying these gas 
     prices, but what am I to do? Quit my job? Try to sell my 
     house so I can move closer to work? At this time I am going 
     to continue to commute and reluctantly put my trust in my 
     government to fix the problem. I am very skeptical that you 
     folks will do anything about it because it seems like the 
     government is more concerned about investigating professional 
     sports and finger pointing about who is to blame for our 
     nation's problems. As a citizen of Idaho and of the United 
     States of America, I can tell you that I really do not care 
     if our nation's problems are a result of Democrats, 
     Republicans, or President Bush. Somebody has to act like a 
     responsible adult, and the American public is waiting to see 
     if our leaders are going to help us. Do you know what it is 
     like to go to the gas station and see the dollar amount on 
     the pump scroll so fast that your head spins?
       My idea to alleviate our oil problems is to drill in the 
     United States in those areas we know to contain oil. Why not? 
     Who are we saving it for? How many jobs would be created if 
     we were to drill on our own soil? Do not you think that 
     creation of those jobs just might help our economy, as well 
     as diminish our reliance on foreign countries for oil?
       I appreciate the opportunity to share my story and ideas. 
     Thank you, Senator Crapo. You seem to be the one that is 
     stepping up.
     Mark, Nampa.
                                  ____

       In response to your email letter I would like to say that 
     this country must do all of the things you mentioned such as 
     developing our domestic oil and refining capacity; nuclear 
     energy; clean coal; wind; solar; hydroelectric and hamsters 
     on spinning wheels if that is what it takes. However, in 
     order to realistically achieve these goals we must first deal 
     with those forces that have been the stumbling block for many 
     years; the environmentalists and their lackeys.
       Now is the time to expose these people and their extremist 
     hand-wringing positions for what they are. No reasonable 
     person wants to pollute the air and/or water, but observe the 
     ``sky is falling'' mentality when the Alaska pipeline was 
     proposed. Every conceivable environmental catastrophe was 
     predicted by the environmental lobby. Unfortunately for them, 
     none of it happened. In fact, wildlife flourished after the 
     pipeline went in and there has been no environmental 
     degradation. The time is right to put on the fore court press 
     against these people. Do it; do it today; and do it boldly 
     and courageously. I look forward to reading the headlines in 
     the newspaper to the affect ``Senator Crapo shouts the truth 
     from the Capitol Rotunda''.
     Mike, Coeur d'Alene.
                                  ____

       Finally a politician that is listening to the people. Now I 
     know why I voted for you. The first few emails on this site 
     are far more astute in presenting their views than I, but I 
     think we should finally ignore the environmentalists and 
     drill ASAP. The very act of starting to drill would probably 
     bring down oil prices. Thanks for listening to your citizens 
     in Idaho.
     AuDeane Cox.
                                  ____

       My initial reaction to the request for response was that it 
     would be a waste of time. I am very frustrated with the 
     ineffectiveness of Congress. The [partisan] in-fighting seems 
     to be more important than the welfare of the Nation. I wish I 
     could believe that the Senator would actually see/read the 
     responses sent to him instead of just a compilation of data, 
     but I do not.
       In response to your request: One solution to saving gas, 
     which would only be a small savings per vehicle but huge 
     nationwide, would be to better manage the stoplights in every 
     town and city. During the times of day and/or at locations 
     where there is light traffic, the stoplights could be set 
     such that the busiest street would get a flashing yellow 
     caution signal and the minor street would have a flashing red 
     stop/go signal. Each intersection would have to be evaluated 
     separately for peak loads versus times of day. The largest 
     impact would be during the night time hours. Not only would 
     this save gas, it would save wear and tear on the vehicles--
     especially the brakes. Major intersections should be 
     unaffected, day or night. What I have suggested would have a 
     minimal cost--only manpower, to re-set the timers in the 
     control boxes. Another possibility, which would be costly, 
     would be to change-out the stoplight controllers to the type 
     that senses traffic and only change the signal as needed. But 
     either way, having to sit at a red light when there is zero 
     cross traffic is foolish, especially when there is an easy 
     solution.
       A second topic that is energy-related is the ethanol craze. 
     Too many people are getting too caught-up in the ``green'' 
     philosophy, and not enough people are looking at the real 
     costs of what they are promoting. You are taking food off of 
     people's tables just to put it into fuel tanks. It costs 
     every bit as much to process corn into gas as crude costs, 
     there is no savings at the pump and the price of food at the 
     grocer's is skyrocketing. This is a joke at this time! If the 
     use of wheat

[[Page S2139]]

     straw, corn stalks, hay, etc. (i.e. by-products), for ethanol 
     production can be perfected, then you would have something 
     worthwhile.
       Further, the request also asked for a brief statement as to 
     how the energy problem was affecting people. I am somewhat 
     past the age that I expected/wanted to retire. But with the 
     problems with the stock market, banking, mortgages, inflation 
     (principally due to energy policies--or lack of same), etc., 
     I am reluctant to go into retirement. Congress could help 
     many retirees if they would rescind the income tax on Social 
     Security. One of the assurances when Social Security was 
     implemented was that it would not be taxed.
     Don.
                                  ____

       I thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts. Next 
     to the air we breathe and the water we drink, energy is tied 
     to everything in life we do. Our entire economy is centered 
     on affordable energy. As energy increases in cost (far too 
     fast to be able to adjust to) everything else does as well 
     since it is energy that is used for production, delivery, and 
     services. As a nation, we cannot be held hostage to a 
     dependency on other countries who hold major energy reserves 
     that they are willing to exploit and yet keep the majority of 
     their citizens uneducated and living in the stone ages. These 
     foreign energy-controlling countries know that the American 
     way of life and our infrastructure and economy is based on 
     energy and will continue to use energy to gain control over 
     our domestic and foreign politics. We as Americans must not 
     allow ourselves to be dependent on foreign energy sources and 
     not allow ourselves to be held hostage by domestic legal 
     blocks by certain environmental groups who wish to prevent 
     our country from being able to explore and produce our own 
     energy sources. What we need to be able to do is take a step 
     back to the early 60s where John Kennedy was able to spur on 
     an all out effort to put a man on the moon by the end of the 
     decade. We need to approve a measure to take emergency action 
     now to start utilizing our own resources of energy to shift 
     away from foreign dependence and at the same time take major 
     efforts to promote expansion and creation of other resources 
     as alternatives and how to make a gallon of gas go much 
     farther than it does today. We need to stop blocking nuclear 
     power plant creations with years of legal/environmental 
     suits, push for the development of affordable efficient 
     battery cells for electric vehicle conversion. For roughly 
     $5,000 a small car or truck can be converted to use DC 
     electric but current lead acid cells do not hold enough 
     charge for reasonable distance (limited to approximately 
     40 miles mile per charge) and are limited to lower speeds 
     of 35-45 mph, making impractical for interstate or longer 
     commutes, and lead acid batteries will only handle a 
     limited number of charge and discharge cycles before 
     needing replacement. I am all for and encourage wind and 
     solar alternatives as well. These alternatives need to be 
     backed and supported by state and federal incentives (tax 
     credits to offset some of the costs) to encourage resident 
     and business use and promote demand so that production 
     costs can be reduced. Prizes have been offered privately 
     to developed space vehicles that can takes passengers on 
     joy rides to the edge of space. Our government should be 
     doing the same to encourage development of alternative 
     energy. From a constituent viewpoint, congress and our 
     countries executive administration have been ignoring for 
     too long developing these alternatives. We should have 
     learned from the 1970s implied shortage of oil and effects 
     it had on our economy, but as soon as cheap oil was dumped 
     on the market we became happy and no efforts have been 
     made to move away from foreign dependence on oil. We as a 
     country did this to ourselves and now have to act 
     immediately to solve our energy issues. This was probably 
     more then you were asking for. How I am personally 
     affected by high fuel prices is no different than others. 
     I cannot afford to fly my aircrafts as often as I use to, 
     or drive to my cabin in Garden Valley as often as I like. 
     The pump is painful and it has impacted my desire to make 
     larger purchases. I am remodeling my home instead of 
     looking to move to a new one. If I were to buy new where I 
     would like to buy to have a large home or lot, it would 
     increase my commute and commute expenses. We eat out less 
     and as people who love to travel, we have three time 
     shares that are going to waste because of the rising cost 
     of airfare. So far we can still feed ourselves but as 
     large company expenses for energy goes up, cut backs will 
     be made in other areas such as employee salary and head 
     count. So rising fuel costs is going to be felt everywhere 
     and on everything.
     Michael, Meridian.
                                  ____

       The question seems to be whether or not the United States 
     needs to drill for our own oil. That seems a no brainer to 
     me. I believe we depend on other countries far too much as it 
     is. It is time we started developing our own method of 
     providing energy without the use of foreign oil. There seems 
     to be an argument that drilling our own oil will not help in 
     the short term. That may be right, but we need to start now 
     so that this development can get underway for the future. If 
     not now, when? We are a nation founded on the principal that 
     we can take care of ourselves and do not need others to make 
     our country self-reliant and strong. The time is now to start 
     to drill for our own oil and if need be to build more 
     refineries to develop it into usable forms. I truly believe 
     if our country does not start taking care of its own energy 
     resources, we will be putting ourselves in jeopardy as a 
     strong independent nation.
       Personally, I will have enough gas to get to work and back. 
     However, I will no longer have enough to go visit my 3-week-
     old grandson and my other family who live 200 miles away. I 
     teach school and even though I am at the top of the pay scale 
     I have to live on a very tight budget. I am waiting to see 
     how this gas increase affects the amount of money I have left 
     to eat on. I am afraid the old adage, ``To rob Peter to pay 
     Paul'', will be in use shortly. My whole family helps each 
     other financially. I help my son who has a hard time finding 
     a job that pays more than minimum wage. My sisters help their 
     children who also have minimum wage-paying jobs and our 
     parents help all of us. Now that these prices are so high, we 
     will not be able to help each other and who knows what will 
     happen. One of my sisters and I do not even own our own 
     homes, so we do not have the equity of a home to rely on.
       There are many other issues I feel strongly about; 
     demanding countries pay us the money they have borrowed, 
     equal taxation for all Americans, minimum wages, the war in 
     Iraq, etc, but those are issues for other communications
       Thanks for asking for our input. I hope this input helps 
     convince legislators that we had better start taking care of 
     our middle and lower classes if this nation is to once again 
     be strong, self-reliant, and independent.
     Kathy, Nampa.
                                  ____

       There are six of us living in our house. The recent hike in 
     electrical which may go up again due to the high price of 
     fuel. It has strapped us big time. We are not keeping up as 
     we once were because my wages aren't going up to compensate 
     for price hikes in food, and services besides the fuel hikes.
       I have been vague about actual numbers because of our 
     privacy, but it is still none the less true about not being 
     able to keep up due to everything going up along with the 
     fuel prices, and not the wages. I really do not like 
     government getting involved in this too much. What can we 
     really do as a people to reduce this or better yet stop it?
     Jim.

                          ____________________