[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 40 (Friday, March 6, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2864-S2865]
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:

       Just last week we had to trade in our truck, which was 
     fully functional, in excellent condition and paid for, to 
     finance a vehicle that we could afford to drive out of the 
     local area. I have family and friends at Hill AFB, UT and in 
     Eugene, Oregon. I have driven my truck to visit them before 
     but would seriously have to plan ahead and save money to do 
     it again using our truck. So, now we have a new to us used 
     vehicle (a 2002) that is great, but now I have two car 
     payments all over again. We had to weigh the fact that while 
     we had a great truck, what good does it do you if you have to 
     actually think about driving it someplace as close as 
     Mountain Home? We used to drive it between Mountain Home and 
     Micron all the time five years ago and never gave it much 
     thought. Thank goodness we live in Kuna now, but still, when 
     I go back to school, the 25 miles or so between Kuna and BSU 
     would make a serious dent in my GI Bill money, which is just 
     enough to cover daycare and tuition.
     Meghan and Wesley.
                                  ____

       I am writing to you today out of major concern for our 
     nation's stability. The price per barrel of oil continues to 
     rise and, with it, so does our cost of living. I am just an 
     average stay-at-home housewife raising my 6-month-old 
     daughter with my husband, who works hard to be our sole 
     provider. In the last six months, we have resorted to me 
     giving up my job as a result of rising fuel, grocery and 
     daycare costs. My husband owns an SUV, which is parked 
     stationery now in our garage, and is taking my sedan to work 
     each day. I rarely leave the house because of fuel costs 
     skyrocketing! We do not have a lot of debt and rely on our 
     savings, which is now dwindling to keep up with the rising 
     costs of everyday living here in Idaho.
       We are hurting, and I know from speaking to friends and 
     family, they are hurting, too. The economic stimulus checks 
     that we received went into my savings account to help our 
     family pay for gas and groceries. Every two weeks, I buy 
     groceries and it costs us $165 a visit, every time we fill up 
     the tank on our SUV its $100 dollars every week in a half. I 
     believe that we are in an economic crisis and that we are 
     entering a depression, not a recession. The media maintains 
     that we have not entered a recession yet. What reality are 
     the media and our legislators living in?
       Please take control of this situation! Do not let oil 
     govern the direction our nation is sliding towards. Offer 
     consumers some sort of fuel alternative. Fortunately, we do 
     not use oil to heat our home. Those homeowners' must be 
     reeling watching the fuel costs soar. You must react now! 
     Salaries are stagnant, the cost of energy is rising, food 
     costs are rising, home prices are falling all of these 
     indicators of an impending Depression!
       We cannot afford to wait 5 years for solutions to today's 
     energy crisis! My recommendation is to put a team together in 
     the city of Boise, which includes average middle class 
     citizens that can give a more realistic view of everyday 
     living costs and come up with some real alternatives/
     solutions which can be implemented now!
       Both my husband and I have pulled our 401k plans out of the 
     stock markets hoping for some stability. After working so 
     hard to save through the years, it is heart wrenching to 
     watch your 401k savings spiral downward! America is bleeding 
     and we have to stop the flow of red! Offer the American 
     people some real solutions. Solutions that do not include 
     lining the pockets of foreign oil industries with our 
     bleeding American dollars!
       I thank you for your time. I am sure you are well aware of 
     this crisis. I wanted to give you a voice from an average 
     middle class American Homemaker. I look forward to your 
     administration making a memorable stand by offering America 
     real solutions to this energy crisis!
     Adriana.
                                  ____

       Thank you for asking our opinion; this is a fresh change 
     from the normal status quo in Washington. I live in central 
     Idaho in a subdivision that has 3 full time residents and the 
     closest town has a grand total of less than two hundred 
     people. I love where I live and would not trade it for 
     anything but it is getting harder and harder to just pay the 
     bills let alone do any outdoor activities that require fuel. 
     I work in construction and the company office that I work for 
     is 25 miles away and 1300 feet higher in elevation than where 
     I live. My wife works 15 miles away and has the same 
     elevation change. This winter we had over five feet of snow 
     on the level and temperatures below zero for many days. 
     Needless to say, riding a bicycle is out of the question, 
     driving a small car with no ground clearance just to get good 
     mileage is no more than an invitation to spend the night in 
     the snow in freezing temperatures. I have been paying $4.99 a 
     gallon for diesel for the last 4 weeks or so and gas for the 
     cars has been over $4.00 for about the same amount of time. 
     Our weekly gas budget has almost doubled in the two plus 
     years that we have lived here not to mention the cost of 
     propane going up. I can guaranty you that our wages have not 
     kept up and it does not look like there will be any increases 
     in income in the near future. In order to have a weekend at 
     the lake we now have to take at least one day off to make it 
     worthwhile to go and go once every three weeks instead of 
     every week or so. I have friends and family that used to come 
     up all of the time and can no longer afford to come up. 
     Tourism is a very large part of the economy up here and 
     without the people coming to visit, going out to dinner, 
     buying gas and just spending money this area will suffer.
       I believe that we are being governed by a few very vocal 
     extremists and special interest groups, who have enough money 
     that they do not care or have lost touch with the average 
     person. They advocate for and lobby for (I do not have time 
     to lobby for anything or go to meetings I have to work to pay 
     for the gas) all of these special regulations that supposedly 
     protect something. I have been told by the government on more 
     than one occasion that ``We do not care what it costs to do 
     that but you must comply to our regulations''. We need to get 
     the government out of the way, drill for oil in Alaska and 
     off our coasts, build more refineries, increase the atomic 
     usage and cut the ties with the countries that do not like 
     us, but want our money and use it against us. In short we 
     need to become more self sufficient, like we were in the 
     past.
       Thank you for your time
     Wade.
                                  ____

       Thank you very much for your e-mail. I get so frustrated 
     and worried and feel like ``we the people'' are never 
     considered by the politicians who run our government.
       For the past 20 years I have lived on a small ranch in the 
     south east corner of Idaho right near the Utah border. It has 
     always been hard for us to make a go of it on the ranch. In 
     fact, without our retirement we would never have been able to 
     make it. Our nearest grocery store is either 36 miles to 
     Malad or 46 miles to Tremonton, Utah. The

[[Page S2865]]

     nearest large town is Pocatello, which is 100 miles from us. 
     Ogden, Utah, is 80 miles and Brigham and Logan, Utah, are 60 
     miles away. Needless to say we must travel quite a distance 
     to get the things we need. There are some times we must take 
     the truck and this takes a lot of gas. The high price of gas 
     is just killing us financially. Just the last two days we had 
     to spend $100 for fuel just to move our cattle from one field 
     to another. We have cut down our trips and that is pretty 
     hard to do when we really need something. There are trips to 
     the Dr. and we always have pills that need to be refilled.
       My husband has worked very hard all his life to provide a 
     good living for our family. We have tried to prepare for the 
     future so we would not be a burden on our children or have to 
     live off the government. Our retirement is in a 401K in the 
     market and we are losing money every day. We are getting old 
     with no source of income and I will tell you it is pretty 
     frightening.
       Everything in our economy is tied to oil and energy prices. 
     I think it is only fair to ask our Congress to act 
     responsibly and get doing something now!
       The statistics I hear say we only use 15% of the oil 
     resources that are available right here in our own country. I 
     have heard politicians say it won't do any good to drill 
     because we won't see any results for such a long time. It 
     does not take a genius to realize that if we don't start 
     doing something now we will never get the relief we need.
       I think we could start by doing something about those silly 
     regulations that prevent us from doing so many sensible 
     things.
       I think we should be allowed to drill for oil and explore 
     for energy resources right here where we live. I think it can 
     be done responsibly if our hands are not tied with ridiculous 
     regulations. I also think we could start building new 
     refineries. I agree that we should explore and expand 
     alternative energy sources, including nuclear. What about 
     Iraq? We have done a lot for them why can't we get oil from 
     them?
       The thing that I think is totally irresponsible is to tax 
     the oil companies and to put global warming nonsense before 
     the needs of human beings.
       It has always been my philosophy that doing something 
     productive is better than setting on our hands and doing 
     nothing. I say to the congress roll up your sleeves and get 
     to work doing something worthwhile.
       I would like to thank you for all the service and many 
     hours you have spent in behalf of all of us in Idaho. I am 
     grateful to have you for my Senator.
     Louise, Stone.
                                  ____

       I am a single parent trying to live on disability, a low 
     fixed income. The current price of gas has affected me 
     severely. I live two and a half hours one way from my doctors 
     in Boise and I must make three to four trips a month. I do 
     not have the resources to relocate or carry on like this.
       These are a few things that I think have lead to the high 
     price of fuel in the U.S. Until recently, all energy futures 
     trading in the U.S. took place on the New York Mercantile 
     Exchange, which traditionally determined the market price of 
     crude oil and natural gas commodities bought and sold here in 
     the United States. Recently a large portion of the futures 
     exchange was moved to London England where they could operate 
     outside of the regulated exchange markets. Since this took 
     place it has driven the price of crude up dramatically, by 
     investors with little or no assets investing in the future 
     price of crude by putting up a fraction of the outright 
     value of the crude oil they are investing in. The basic 
     facts are clear--this market is purely and simply being 
     controlled by over-speculation.''
       In 2000, at the urging of Enron and other large energy 
     traders, a provision was slipped into an omnibus bill 
     conference report that eliminated CFTC oversight of energy 
     commodities traded by large companies outside of the 
     regulated exchanges. This so-called Enron loophole has 
     severely restricted CFTC oversight of energy trading. Supply 
     and demand = There has not been a new refinery built in the 
     US in over 30 years. We have more oil here in the US than in 
     all of the Middle East if you take into consideration The 
     shale in the Rocky Mountains, the oil in ANWR Alaska and off 
     our coast.
       All four of these things must be done to drive the price of 
     fuel down in the U.S.
       1. Remove this loophole for energy futures traders.
       2. Change the amount of money put up front by investors in 
     the futures trade energy market to 50%.
       3. Allow drilling at ANWR in Alaska , off our coastlines 
     and also allow the extraction of oil from Rocky Mountain 
     shale.
       4. Streamline the process for building new refineries 
     (cracking plants) in the U.S.
       Your help is needed and appreciated.
     Mark, Council.
                                  ____

       Thank you for notifying me that you are trying to do 
     something about the gas prices. My husband and I are retired, 
     but we had no retirement to fall back on. Now we live on 
     Social Security. Our needs are not great, but the increased 
     gas prices and the resulting increased food prices are 
     dealing us a severe blow. We now drive to the grocery store 
     and to church and almost nowhere else. I have also cut down 
     on the groceries that I buy. We have even decided to cut way 
     down on our evening meal so that we do not have to buy so 
     much food. Any help you can give us and people in the US like 
     us will be so appreciated. I know being a Congressman is not 
     an easy job. I do thank you for working for the citizens of 
     Idaho and the United States.
     Karen, Coeur d'Alene.
                                  ____

       The price of heating oil has quadrupled since installing 
     our heater. We left wood because of injuries not allowing 
     either one of us to get the wood, split, or even get it into 
     the stove. We are worried about being able to have any this 
     coming winter.
       Our use of our boat--the only recreation that we have. The 
     boat does not use much fuel, about 2 gallons a day out on the 
     lake fishing. But we cannot get the boat to the lake. It 
     takes a rig to do that, and the rig only gets 24 miles per 
     gallon. And to make it worse, we are only 25 miles from the 
     lake or 9 miles to the Clearwater River! We have to worry 
     about heat this winter. So no recreation.
       I work 15 miles from home. I have a car that gets 35 plus 
     miles per gallon. I only earn $6.25 per hour. At present gas 
     is $3.99 a gallon. It eats into any profits I might have. Any 
     higher and I will be forced to quit.
       I know a girl who no longer can work there. She had a baby. 
     The cost of child care and fuel was more than her wages. So 
     she is on food stamps much to her dismay.
       This right-to-work state with its low wages. It takes 3/4 
     of an hour to earn a gallon of milk! And the rest of the 
     groceries go up every delivery of foods. Because of fuel 
     costs.
       A lot of people, not only in this state, are in the same 
     boat. Some are having to give up jobs. Some are having to 
     close their businesses. Some are giving up their homes. It 
     hurts more out here in the real world than it does in the 
     beltway. The whole economy is going down the tubes all 
     because the price of energy.
       The argument that it is only $50 or so per month more. 
     Well...then there is the add-on for food, and everything 
     else. And on a fixed income, with a low wage job to 
     supplement. That is a lot.
       I will add another thing. The summer mix for the fuel cuts 
     the gas mileage. How's that one!! for a stupid regulation?
       And you can bet your boots, if all those foreign countries 
     and speculators thought we were really going to drill our own 
     oil, the prices would drop like a rock. Drill for oil along 
     with all the other things. Build nuclear, build my hydropower 
     systems. Do it al. Open all the oil potential fields. Make 
     our country totally self sufficient. Get away from the 
     dictators!
     Karen, Juliaetta.
                                  ____

       My family (Dad and four brothers) owns a roofing business 
     here in Boise. The high fuel prices have made it difficult 
     for us to make a profit. The price of materials has increased 
     every month for the past three months and some say that they 
     will increase by 30-40% before the end of the summer. I see 
     this as a direct result of the price of fuel. The 
     construction industry in Idaho has taken some hits and I 
     don't think that Idahoans can really afford for the price of 
     home production to increase. Especially when you consider how 
     many houses are currently on the market and how many people 
     are facing foreclosure.
       America is the best country in the world. I think that our 
     dependence on foreign oil is the pinnacle of stupidity. We 
     have the resources, the technology and the manpower to become 
     energy dependent without hurting the environment. Capitalism 
     is the way to ensure that America will remain the best 
     country in the world. Please do your part to help us become 
     energy independent by letting us drill in our own country and 
     use our own resources without taxing the oil companies and 
     nationalizing energy production.
       Idaho is the greatest state in America; I love it. It is 
     beautiful and I would like to share that beauty with my kids 
     someday without having to sell my house in order to pay for 
     the gas that it cost to drive around this great state. Thanks 
     for the great work!
     Victor, Boise.
                                  ____

       I would like to tell you my story regarding the energy 
     prices, not only has our family been impacted by the cost of 
     fuel, but it has also been impacted by the loss of income. I 
     am a single parent, and up until a year ago had an income of 
     $35-38K a year. The only work I am able to find is part-time 
     employment for minimum wage. (I have too much experience for 
     the jobs posted.) Add that to the continuous increasing fuel 
     prices and the harder I try to get ahead and to make ends 
     meet the more behind I get. The stimulus check I received, 
     because of the high cost of fuel, went to bills and groceries 
     rather than into the economy as I would have enjoyed. I am 
     constantly ``robbing Peter to pay Paul'' within my budget. I 
     have to have a vehicle, which requires gasoline, to get to 
     work. With the cost of gas equaling an hour of net income, it 
     takes the biggest percentage after my mortgage/rent payment.
       If possible, relief at the pump would be greatly 
     appreciated. I know I am not the only who has a limited 
     income and is struggling financially.
     Lori, Garden City.

                          ____________________