[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 35 (Friday, February 27, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2588-S2590]
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 I do not know why I am writing this since I doubt 
     that the Senate will really hear me, but since you gave me 
     the opportunity to vent here goes.
       My husband and I have been married for nine years. Our goal 
     has always been to live within our means. He is an 
     electrician and makes a decent wage and has good health 
     benefits. I am a stay-at-home mom and am busy taking care of 
     our three children (soon four). We have tried to stay out of 
     debt our whole marriage. We currently have our house payment 
     which takes up 27% of my husband's take-home pay each month 
     (This can be lowered if he works overtime but for this sake 
     it is just working a 40-hour week). We then have life 
     insurance policies that are cash policies that take up 08% of 
     our income. We contribute 10% to our faith each month. Then 
     there is 11% used for utility bills, car insurance, etc. The 
     rest is used for gasoline, food, clothing, and unexpected 
     expenses. Last year we were saving 12.5% of my husband's 
     income monthly. This year we are barely making it monthly and 
     saving only 3% if possible.
       We can foresee that if energy prices continue it will be 
     hard for my husband to keep working as an electrician. Pay 
     has not increased as well as costs and living where we do in 
     Idaho we cannot stay in the same town to work. Last year he 
     was traveling over 120 miles a day to go to work and home. It 
     is not unusual for electricians in Idaho to travel at least 
     60 miles one way. We have tried to accommodate his traveling 
     and moved to the middle of where he has worked but still we 
     figured it costs him 400 dollars a month in gasoline to go to 
     work which is 11% of his income. It is easy to see why we are 
     barely making it.
       We are frugal citizens. I do the cooking of food, we pack 
     lunches from home, we have no cable television or cell 
     phones, we grow our own garden, I can our own fruit and 
     vegetables, my husband hunts for venison in the fall which we 
     package ourselves (being the majority of our meat source), 
     and we try to stock up monthly on our food storage. I have 
     been doing less storage because we have less income. I also 
     as the primary shopper have noticed that our food is costing 
     more to purchase.
       The problem is not that gasoline is just high. Because it 
     is high food prices are higher, parts for vehicles are higher 
     (we do the majority of our vehicle repairs too), electricity 
     and utilities have raised, taxes are raised to pay for the 
     increase in cities budgets, etc. The 11% we are seeing in gas 
     does not compensate for all the increases because of gas. If 
     we take that into account we would probably see that number 
     grow exponentially.
       So we see what gas is doing, what are we doing about it? 1) 
     As a family we are trying to start a business that we can do 
     on the side from home. We sent my husband to Taxidermy School 
     so he can maybe earn a little on the side along with being an 
     electrician. This has been very difficult to do since it 
     costs money and we have very little extra to spend. It has 
     taken us a year to pay for the supplies and tools that are 
     needed. We have spent our savings hoping that in the future 
     it will work out. 2) We make sure he carpools with coworkers 
     so our gas bill is minimal. This so far has been great but we 
     cannot always count on it working out as smoothly as it has. 
     3) We do not travel; I go out very little and drive only 
     about 50 miles a week. The rest of the time I am home with 
     our kids. On the weekends we stay home and try to entertain 
     ourselves in our yard. We have planted a larger garden to 
     hopefully help us keep out of the grocery store less. We try 
     to stay active as a family. We no longer for fishing, hiking, 
     camping, or geocaching as a family. It is too expensive to 
     go. I have not enrolled our children in anything extra such 
     as soccer, tee ball, swim lessons, etc. because the money is 
     not there to accommodate such wants. With such cuts we are 
     still able to barely make it.
       The time has come for people to be extremely frugal, work 
     more than one job, or go into extreme debt to make ends meet. 
     We once were a nation to progress, to succeed, to set the 
     standards .  .  . are we now becoming a nation in steady 
     decline? How do we reverse such a movement? Will our 
     government written by the people and for the people help us 
     or hinder us? Let us start the upward movement before the 
     decline is too hard for many of our citizens to climb out of. 
     Curbing the costs of gasoline and educating the public on 
     financial security will help many get out of the holes they 
     have dug themselves into, and help others from digging any 
     holes at all. Thanks.
     Sesha, Shelley.
                                  ____

       Thank you for caring enough to listen to the folk in Idaho. 
     Why does it matter how we feel or what we think? Nothing will 
     change for the working man.

[[Page S2589]]

       Idaho Power will continue to raise our energy bills. Gas is 
     rising each day and now food, then gas heat, etc. It is a 
     domino effect. Why does nothing ever go down? Taxpayers keep 
     getting hit time and again for everything, including illegal 
     immigrants. Get them back home to where they came from that 
     would save a bunch of money right there, in gas, food, 
     welfare, and money paying their medical hospital/ER bills, 
     etc. Have you seen the new laws of Ada County, having to 
     cover illegal immigrants and their medical problems? I can 
     barely take care of my own anymore.
       I wish I earned hundreds of thousands like [so many people 
     who make policy decisions. Perhaps more need to know that 
     it's like to] hope you have enough money after buying food 
     for your family and prescriptions for your child for gas for 
     your car--no more fun vacations that we remember as children 
     for my kids; instead, I am doing all I can to keep myself and 
     my family above water and working for benefits.
       Why should we be proud to be Americans anymore? Our 
     government gives and gives to other countries, and sends our 
     men and women to a senseless waste of time war--costing 
     billions, and what do we all get in return? The vets come 
     home with hardly any thanks, and we Americans get [the short 
     end] one way or another, by money, tax and politics, and the 
     system in general.
     Unsigned.
                                  ____

       Thank you for standing up for the working class who are 
     being profoundly affected by the rising gasoline and energy 
     costs. The rising cost of gasoline is affecting the cost of 
     food and commodities as well. It is getting more difficult 
     all the time to make ends meet. My husband and I are in our 
     60s and have turned to riding scooters to be able to afford 
     the gasoline which has gone from costing $200 per month to 
     over $450 per month just to be able to get to work! We 
     definitely need to increase our domestic oil production, 
     provide refineries to process it. We must remember that the 
     oil is a finite resource and therefore we must expand nuclear 
     energy research and develop incentives for conservation. We 
     need to fix some very serious problems in our country. We 
     have major health care issues--insurance companies getting 
     rich and employers having to reduce benefits and all of it 
     basically comes right out of our pockets. We have hungry 
     people in our own country and we should be taking care of 
     business at home, work on becoming much more self sufficient 
     in providing our own energy resources and fix the problems to 
     give Americans back a life that is affordable.
     Sherry, Meridian.
                                  ____

       I am 27 years old, married with no children, and working 
     the hard grind like everyone else. I am currently enrolled at 
     BSU working diligently towards a doctorate degree in 
     chiropractics.
       While attending BSU, I was able to take an English class 
     that was focused around the environment and problems that 
     have recently arisen. One of the assignments that we were 
     given was to think of a particular crisis that we as humans 
     are facing and come up with a reasonable solution. The topic 
     that I choose to write on was alternate fuels sources. After 
     much research I found that one of the easiest and most 
     abundant fuel sources we have is hydrogen (H).
       I understand that you set up this email to hear from the 
     people of Idaho with concerns, ideas or whatever to come up 
     with a solution to the current crisis we are in, and 
     everything that I have noticed is everyone is worried just 
     about the cost of fuel. Inflation is a real thing, and it was 
     coming sooner or later . . . but why do we have to focus on 
     using old technology? Why can we not focus on using alternate 
     fuels in Idaho? I am an Idaho native, and I personally 
     believe this is the greatest state to live in because of the 
     quality of life this great state provides. The problem is we 
     are destroying that quality by still utilizing fossil fuels.
       I recently went to the movies with my wife and saw an 
     inspiring short film about the town of Greensburg, Kansas. If 
     you are not familiar with the phenomenon that is occurring in 
     this town I will briefly describe it. Recently this town of 
     Greensburg was devastated by numerous tornadoes to the point 
     of there were no sound structures still standing . . . 
     instead of the people of the community just giving up and 
     moving, they decided to rebuild the city but to rebuild it as 
     the ``greenest'' city on earth. They made a commitment to not 
     only better the environment, but also the community and the 
     quality of life. This short story struck a chord with me . . 
     . why combat the prices of fuel? Why not combat the harmful 
     fuel itself? Through the basic laws of physics we know that 
     mass cannot be destroyed, just changed. Hydrogen (H) is the 
     simplest form of a molecule known to man, and once combusted 
     with Oxygen it creates water. I know you are a very educated 
     man and probably do not need physics or chemistry lessons but 
     I do have a point. Being our Senator and our voice, and 
     acknowledging the crisis we are in I applaud you for your 
     ongoing efforts, but I personally think we should not only 
     focus our efforts to help alleviate the hardships on Idahoans 
     but make the quality of life better. Become the first State 
     in this great nation to do something different, make a 
     difference, and show the rest of the nation what Idahoans are 
     all about.
       Fuel will always be needed, but why limit what fuel that 
     is? We have a chance to make a difference, become leaders and 
     not followers. Set a trend that will improve our economic 
     standings, make miracles happen and change the world. I 
     understand that you are one among a very powerful group of 
     people . . . but you have the state of Idaho behind you to 
     make a difference. The only thing I ask is for you to enlist 
     into a righteous cause and make a difference that the world 
     can see and will follow.
       Thank you for your efforts and your time in reading this; 
     it is my pleasure to have a representative who cares in 
     office.
     Mike.
                                  ____

       I did not receive your email request because I am not a 
     registered Republican. However, whether Republican or 
     Democrat, we are all suffering the same crisis with the 
     rising fuel costs.
       I will not go into the politics of this because I just do 
     not understand how big oil business can control the whole 
     world like this.
       What I do know is this: I moved my daughter out to Meridian 
     a few years ago so I could be more help raising her three 
     children. She is a single mother who is not receiving child 
     support, but makes too much money for state help. We both 
     work in Boise. She keeps her children involved in sports to 
     help keep them out of trouble. Now she has to decide--drive 
     to work, drive the kids to sports, or buy groceries. My other 
     daughter (she and I are both single also) and I help buy 
     groceries, help her with expenses, and help drive the kids to 
     sports events. Now we are all suffering.
       My daughter (with the children) received a 2% raise this 
     year, but her power just went up 10%, gas has gone up 100%, 
     and her medical insurance deduction from her check went up 
     20%. It has reached the point where we are all selling our 
     homes and moving into one to help with expenses. The days of 
     multiple generation homes has come back. I really do not know 
     how the elderly on limited incomes are surviving.
       Thanks for listening, and I hope answers will be coming 
     very soon. This just has to stop.
     Arden, Meridian.
                                  ____

       I just wanted to share that we are one of many grandparents 
     that are raising a grandchild. I have chosen to stay at home 
     to raise her so we are now a one-income family. My husband 
     works in Boise, and we live in Middleton. It is costing us 
     over $200 a month for gas for him to go to work. Our 
     granddaughter's father is in a work camp in St. Anthony and 
     every year we take her to see him. She lives for that visit, 
     but this year we had to break the news to her that we could 
     not afford to make this trip. She was brokenhearted. But if 
     the cost of fuel keeps going up, we may have to also break 
     the bad news to her that she will not be able to continue 
     with her dance classes. She has been taking ballet for 7 
     years, but we will have to make the choice of food and gas 
     over her dancing. I have also been able to help at her school 
     during the day, but again this year that may not happen. If 
     the gas prices do not go down and the state raises the price 
     on registrations I will have no option but to park my car and 
     not use it at all. My husband always goes to a church mission 
     every year to help the poor and needy with house repairs, but 
     not this year, as they have to supply their own gas back and 
     forth.
       We are at the point with gas prices and food prices and 
     utilities and property taxes going up and wages staying the 
     same we do not have anything left at the end of each pay 
     period. There is no fun time for us now, no vacations, eating 
     out, or going to a movie. We are saving our dimes this year 
     to just go to the fair, which our little girl looks forward 
     to also. I pray I do not have to say no to her again.
       I also have a father who lives here in Middleton; he is 84 
     years old and has cancer and has to drive everyday to Boise 
     for treatments. He has not complained but I am sure being on 
     a fixed income he is giving something up to get that gas to 
     receive his radiation. Please help all of us people. I know 
     there are people who are worst off than we. This is just not 
     fair or just.
     Diana.
                                  ____

       My story is as follows: I am a (divorced) single parent of 
     three. I work fulltime and am buying my home. I receive a 
     small amount of child support along with my salary. It has 
     become nearly impossible to be able to afford to just drive 
     to work and back. Taking my children anywhere for a summer 
     vacation has become an impossibility this year. It has 
     already reached the point that I have to choose between gas 
     and anything else (including running my air conditioner in my 
     home or car). If the cost of fuel keeps rising, I will 
     definitely have to mortgage my house just to get through the 
     remainder of the year. It is not right! We are living hand to 
     mouth, and the United States has resources we should be 
     utilizing. Even if the oil off-shore will not immediately 
     alleviate the cost of fuel, we need to start drilling in 
     order to stabilize our economy. In the mean time, the 
     ``negotiators'' who buy the oil from other countries could 
     cut back their bonuses and cut our costs drastically.
     Jeanna, Boise.
                                  ____

       How much energy can the sun provide?
       According to the American Solar Energy Society, enough 
     sunlight falls on the earth's surface each minute to meet 
     world energy demand for an entire year. http://
www.powerhousetv.com/.

[[Page S2590]]

       The above info blows me away. Why aren't we harnessing this 
     energy?
       I live in an older home with an oil furnace. We use it 
     conservatively, turn it off during the day, down when we go 
     to sleep for the night, use a couple of space heaters--and 
     still my oil bill is pushing $400 a month. . . . And winter 
     went long this year.
       We already have the technology to utilize solar energy, 
     whereas cellulosic, or any viable, biofuel is years away. Why 
     do not we put tax dollars into constructing power plants that 
     will capture solar energy and give meaningful assistance to 
     people to convert from oil-consuming applications?
     Carol, Twin Falls.
                                  ____

       This letter is written with intent to describe our ever-
     diminishing economy from a manufacture's point of view. FAB 
     TEC, Inc is a small business that manufactures aggregate 
     handling equipment, including; rock crushers, screening 
     plants and material conveying products. We employ 
     approximately 50 people. Our industry uses primarily steel. 
     From raw stock steel products, to axles with wheels and tires 
     and all the necessary hardware to complete this equipment.
       Over the past two and a half years our company has endured 
     huge price increases in our consumables needed to produce our 
     products. Such as steel, and petroleum based products along 
     with all other consumables needed to manufacture our product.
       Steel prices have soared approximately 300% over the last 
     three years. 50% increase since December of 2007 pricing. 
     Fuel prices have also gone out of control. FAB TEC uses many 
     petroleum based products such as large amounts of conveyor 
     belting, tires and paint products. Not to mention the fuel it 
     takes to bring in and ship out our products. The 
     manufacturer, and also the end user of products like ours are 
     absorbing huge costs due to the out of control pricing of the 
     consumables we use in the production of the product we sell.
       With the public's whispered word ``recession'' at hand, we 
     think it is time our government steps in to control the price 
     gouging large corporations have forced on all of us, 
     especially including the individual standing in line at the 
     grocery store to buy his bare necessaries to survive the ever 
     increasing cost due to out of control fuel costs. I would 
     hope someone or entity would do something soon before it is 
     too late.
       These statements are solely based on my opinion, but I feel 
     as many do, we must do something now before it is too late to 
     reverse our dwindling economy.
     Frank, Moscow.

                          ____________________