[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 44 (Thursday, March 12, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3070-S3072]
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:

       Thank you for the opportunity to provide opinion on our 
     current problems. I work at the site, and was named the 
     outstanding researcher for 2006. By way of further 
     background, I hold a PhD in chemistry, and I have heretofore 
     always voted [conservative].
       It seems to me that the key question to be addressed is 
     ``what is the role of the Federal government guiding and 
     fostering energy development and usage in the United 
     States?'' If I could ask one question of yourself, Mr. Risch, 
     Mr. Obama, and Mr. McCain, that would be it.
       It further seems to me that the de facto energy policy of 
     our party is ``the private sector will do it.'' I believe 
     that what we have proven over the past 40 years is that this 
     is incorrect. The current cost of energy supports my 
     position: $4 gasoline (with $5 in sight), rising food prices 
     (fueled by a nonsensical corn to ethanol policy), plus the 
     cost of the war in Iraq (Alan Greenspan is correct: it is all 
     about oil). Certainly the cost of electricity and other 
     energy sources will follow suit. While the private sector has 
     proven extremely adept at maximizing profits over a 3 month 
     quarterly-reporting time frame, that appears to be the limit 
     of their time horizon. It is sadly ironic that decisions made 
     in 1974 by France regarding nuclear power and by Brazil (a 
     dictatorship at the time!) in 1975 regarding ethanol, were 
     vastly more far-sighted that what our country has chosen by 
     abrogating energy leadership to the private sector.
       Alternatively I believe that strong interaction lead by the 
     Federal government and involving the private sector can solve 
     the problem. While I understand that sounds socialistic, that 
     is exactly how we were able to harness our power to address 
     the challenge of the second world war and the cold war.
       I would recommend that you set a goal to have the country 
     be free of imported oil in 15 years. To accomplish this, we 
     will need to find another way to power the transportation 
     sector, and electricity is the only viable alternative. The 
     government should subsidize mass transit and utilization of 
     electric cars and development of next-generation electric 
     cars should be subsidized. Financing for subsidies should 
     come from taxes on the egregious profits realized by oil 
     companies, which we are subsidizing in the form of military 
     defense of the middle east. Clearly the supply of electricity 
     will need to be greatly augmented, and nuclear fission is the 
     best answer for this. While I do not believe that wind or 
     solar have the efficiency to supply the amount of electricity 
     needed, research into improving these technologies should be 
     fostered.
       In the process of implementing these policies, a highly 
     desirable collateral effect would be to greatly spur American 
     science. Federal support for basic and applied research would 
     stabilize the funding base, and improve the desirability of 
     the scientific disciplines, which are not in favor with young 
     Americans, because the return on mastery of the fields of 
     math, biology, chemistry and physics are not currently 
     commensurate with the investment required to learn them. To 
     fund this, you will have to figure out how to reign in health 
     care, another item which will require forceful government 
     intervention.
       While I am encouraged by your interest in my opinion, I am 
     dismayed by the timing. At this point, the horse is long out 
     of the barn, and if you have done anything to address the 
     situation, it has been invisible to me. Yet, you still have a 
     good fraction of your term remaining, enough time to start 
     acting in the best interest of the United States and her 
     institutions, and to start de-prioritizing those of 
     [individuals] who are only interested in their bottom lines.
       Best regards and good luck.
     Gary.
                                  ____

       To quickly preface my story, I am a professional that nets 
     a salary of roughly $38,000/year with a small family. We have 
     made the

[[Page S3071]]

     decision that raising good kids and having a mother in the 
     home is more important than making more money. With my salary 
     and my wife's very part-time job, in the past we have been 
     able to absorb minor blows such as unexpected medical 
     situations, needed vehicle repairs, and other unforeseen 
     bills. With the way things are now, such as gas and food 
     prices, we have had to strategize and make every dollar 
     count. There is no complaint on my end, although if and when 
     the next unexpected medical bill happens, it will be 
     difficult. Fortunately we have faith that all will be okay 
     and that we will always be able to pay our bills and enjoy 
     life.
       By no means am I asking for a handout. On the contrary, I 
     wish the elected officials that act as our government would 
     step out of the way and allow the hard-working Americans do 
     what they do best; use their intellect to solve problems. 
     Please allow the free market do what it was designed to do. 
     We firmly believe that God created this beautiful Earth for 
     our ``responsible'' use. What I mean is that we should use 
     the resources that are available to us (which are in 
     wonderful abundance here) while at the same time replenish 
     what we can for our posterity. We never bought into this 
     ``Green'' movement and have since discovered that it was all 
     a hoax with horrible intentions.
       We will survive whatever comes our way. My family has the 
     ``American Spirit''. I wish that Congress would adopt that 
     same spirit.
     Dillon, Meridian.
                                  ____

       Thank you for asking those you represent what we think and 
     feel about this crisis. The cost of oil going up has affected 
     so many more things than just filling up our tank. We are 
     faced with the choice of going to the doctors, (we have 
     insurance), or get gas or groceries!! We have been unable to 
     have children on our own, and we decided for me to go back to 
     work to save up money for fertility treatments. But now that 
     the gas, food & utility prices have shot up, we are beginning 
     to wonder if we will be able to get to work let alone ever 
     achieve our dream.
       I see my siblings trying to raise their children and make 
     ends meet with gas prices the way they are. I hear it in the 
     voices of my co-workers, family, and friends. This is not 
     right! We elected our politicians to be our representatives, 
     not to go to Washington and do what they want. Listen to the 
     majority not the minority. ``For the people by the people.'' 
     We the people are talking. Are you all listening????
       First: Drill off shore and in Alaska. Second: Keep working 
     on alternatives like hydrogen, coal to oil, nuclear 
     facilities etc. This country is full of the best and 
     brightest. We ought to show that.
     Annette, Meridian.
                                  ____

       Subject: Final Destination of Alaska Oil is--?
       American taxpayers paid to have the Alaskan pipeline built 
     to relieve dependence on foreign oil in the 70s. When oil 
     prices started to drop, the oil companies, BP, Exxon, and 
     etc. cried poor-mouth. They were not getting an adequate 
     return on their investment in the North Slope oil fields. 
     [Congress gave approval for the companies] to take American 
     oil to Asia for a better price than they could get on the 
     West Coast of California or other American markets. Then 
     prices in America started rising, but the oil (our oil!) was 
     still being shipped to Asian countries. To my knowledge, this 
     is still where a lot of the Alaska oil is going.
       Question: Is Congress still letting these greedy ruthless 
     oil companies ship desperately needed American oil to Asia 
     for higher prices? If not, when did it stop and where is it 
     being shipped? If they are still shipping American oil to 
     Asia, why the heck hasn't Congress stopped the process?
       A response to this situation, and/or a clarification of 
     what is the present status of Alaska oil shipments would be 
     appreciated.
     Joe, Boise.
                                  ____

       I am against increasing domestic production of oil in 
     sensitive areas such as the Arctic. It has not been made 
     clear to me that it would have any other than a minor affect 
     on prices and supply.
       I am adjusting to the high gas prices by driving a fuel 
     efficient vehicle and parking the others and using them only 
     when absolutely necessary. I also am careful in my driving 
     habits such as keeping my speed at or below 60 and avoiding 
     undo acceleration. I turn my engine off at stop lights when I 
     expect the wait will be long. I coast down hills when it is 
     safe to do so with the engine off although this can be a 
     dangerous practice.
       Here's what I feel our government including congress could 
     to help the situation:
       1. Set a national speed of 55 or 60 as was done in the 70s. 
     I think that many people do not understand that higher speeds 
     require more gas than lower speeds to go the same distance 
     because of air friction. This is not publicized. It should 
     be.
       2. Stop all speculation in oil trading by whatever means 
     necessary. For me, the frequent (mostly) up and down 
     variations in price at the gas station are more unsettling 
     than the high price.
       3. Declare new fuel efficiency standards under emergency 
     conditions. Not some silly minor improvement by 2020! As has 
     been done [in the past]. The auto manufacturers demonstrated 
     how rapidly through research and development just how fast 
     they could come up with catalytic converters in the 70s to 
     meet emission standards. Give them credit! They can perform 
     miracles if they are forced to. Force them!
       4. Keep oil prices high but stable. Painful as it is, it 
     seems to me the only way to effect the needed changes. I have 
     no longer any confidence in energy leadership by either 
     government or industry. Government just does what industry 
     wants and what industry wants is to keep things as they are. 
     Our government needs to take a leadership role. For a long, 
     long time, congress and the administration have failed 
     miserably in that role. It is time for a change.
       5. Require new cars to have a fuel consumption meter 
     clearly visible to the driver. This would encourage efficient 
     driving. When the driver sees how his miles-per-gallon drops 
     to near zero when accelerating up a hill--well, he might 
     learn to drive more conservatively.
       It seems to me that this is our second warning regarding 
     the consequences of our dependence on oil, the first being in 
     the early 70s. Perhaps this is our last warning.
     David, Viola.
                                  ____

       I am but a young college student. I currently live in 
     Middleton with my family for the summer. I will be headed 
     back to University of Idaho this fall for my sophomore year. 
     The $4 per gallon gas prices are ridiculous. While living 
     here in the summer, I begin to realize how lucky I am to be 
     headed back to Moscow where I can get anywhere in town just 
     by riding a bike or walking. Living in Middleton, I need to 
     drive 15 miles to go to work seeing as there are not very 
     many job opportunities located in my town. Some people have 
     to drive even drive further to get to their jobs. I have seen 
     my parents struggle with the prices. They always consider how 
     much it is going to cost us to drive somewhere if we plan on 
     going on a family trip. It definitely complicates things.
       I am currently studying Wildlife Resources at my school and 
     have learned much about how environments are affected by 
     polluting toxins that come from coal plants. This should not 
     be an alternative. Also, corn ethanol is not effective, 
     because in order to create enough fuel for everyone in our 
     country, we would need to drastically increase the corn 
     production. Nuclear power, on the other hand, I am unsure 
     about, but what I am sure about is that we are in a decade of 
     change--one that is challenging us. People need to realize 
     that ``global warming'' is not a farce and people should not 
     use excuses such as ``Well, Idaho had a higher average of 
     snowfall this year than in the past 5 years.'' There is a 
     reason it is called ``global warming'' and not ``Idaho 
     warming''. It has to do with average global temperatures and 
     the changing of these temperatures cause climate changes, 
     which could be why we saw so much snow this past winter.
       Anyways, to get back on track, we need to shift to cleaner 
     ways of generating energy. We have all heard of harnessing 
     wind, water, solar, and geothermal energy. These are all very 
     costly, but run clean. The solutions are not to use more coal 
     or drill for more oil. Those solutions are just prolonging 
     the problem, which is our dependency. If we open up more 
     drilling sites in America then the gas may be lowered a 
     little bit, but American oil is still finite and will 
     eventually deplete which will put us in the same situation we 
     are in now. The $4 per gallon is a wakeup call that we need 
     to change the way we are doing things and progress; not 
     regress. Hopefully you will help to make this progression 
     that we so desperately need.
     Dylan, Middleton.
                                  ____

       Thank you for letting me express my frustrations.
       This is a very simple problem to solve. Start drilling and 
     alleviate the problems we are currently seeing at the gas 
     pumps, food prices, and other high prices that are occurring 
     with the high prices of fuel. If streamlined and the ability 
     of Congress to cut red tape that is currently enacted, we 
     could start pulling oil out of the ground in 18 months and 
     not 5 to 10 years. Pulling oil out of the ground will make 
     the prices fall plain and simple. [Some] will say that more 
     oil will not cause prices to fall due to the oil companies, 
     but basic economics 101 will tell you that more supply equals 
     less prices plain and simple. It is not rocket science, but 
     [some groups have] been more interested in the redistribution 
     of wealth rather than letting the free market take it is 
     course.
       I hear lies and intentional misstatements of the truth 
     coming from [some politicians]. When [will truthtellers 
     start] educating] the public on how much oil we currently 
     have in North America (more than Saudi Arabia), and letting 
     extreme environmentalist entities that they bow to run the 
     show on our energy policy.
       I keep hearing from [some] that we cannot drill our way to 
     energy independence. What is their solution then? I have not 
     heard of anything that they are coming up with to alleviate 
     the problem. They do not want nuclear power plants, they do 
     not want to burn coal, and drilling offshore and in ANWR 
     would be horrible for the environment. I have some news for 
     [those folks]: their French buddies have nuclear power plants 
     that are safe and provide clean energy for the people of 
     France. Burning coal or emitting carbon dioxide does not 
     create global warming; it is a natural effect that has 
     occurred over and over again throughout the history of the 
     Earth. Sport fisherman fish off of oil rigs in the sea, 
     and caribou do not care about an oil rig, or pipeline 
     laying on the ground either.
       It is time [that we had some leadership and challenged the 
     false information] on energy

[[Page S3072]]

     policy. If not, the [conservative voices will] have less 
     leadership in Congress, and we will have an energy crisis in 
     the greatest county in the world.
       P.S. Can we get some more oil refineries as well?
     Cory.
                                  ____

       First off, thank you for soliciting comments from your 
     constituents.
       Everyone is concerned about, and affected by energy prices. 
     Gas prices are just the tip of the iceberg. Food prices, 
     goods and services prices, utility bills, natural gas up 
     double from last year, airline prices, the housing/credit 
     crisis and a very weak dollar are all affected by our energy 
     emergency. This is not a matter of choice. Either we pursue 
     energy independence or we risk losing the America our 
     forefathers created and our brave soldiers have died fighting 
     for.
       Why are we the only civilized country not aggressively 
     pursuing energy independence? France is over 70% nuclear, the 
     EU has plans for over 20 coal plants across Europe, Canada is 
     drilling near our northeastern border, Russia recently gave 
     major tax breaks to oil companies to explore inside their 
     borders and find alternative energy, Brazil is aggressively 
     drilling, China is building dozens of coal plants, nuclear 
     plants and hydroelectric dams, they have also secured a lease 
     (from Cuba) 50 miles off the shore of Key West, Florida. The 
     US hasn't built a refinery in over 30 years. There is 
     something wrong with this picture. Is everyone else on the 
     wrong energy path? Or could it be we are falling behind? I 
     think the answer is obvious.
       To me the solution is twofold. Short term and long term. 
     Short term: Allow private industry to aggressively pursue all 
     sources of energy within our borders. We are sitting on 
     billions of barrels of oil, oil shale and coal. Go get it 
     now! We have nuclear technology, coal to oil technology, 
     wind, solar. Long term: Offer incentives to private 
     industries to create new alternative energy sources. American 
     innovators have proved time and time again they are capable 
     of getting the job done. Get the government out of their way 
     and let them lead the world into the next generation of 
     energy production.
     Dennis.
                                  ____

       I am writing concerning your call for Idahoans to tell 
     about how oil prices are affecting us. Fortunately I live 
     very close to work so I do not drive much to commute. I do 
     however have to transport children to day care, school and 
     other activities. Trips are almost out of the question now.
       Having looked into the facts I fully support drilling in 
     ANWR and OCS. I find it disturbing that we are not already 
     doing so when I hear that other countries, especially some 
     that are not overly friendly to us, are permitting to drill 
     off of our coasts. I think the U.S. should pursue all avenues 
     of collecting domestic fuel sources including coal shale to 
     oil and nuclear. This country should pursue nuclear power in 
     large scale, hydrogen, and other alternatives as well. The 
     fact remains, as you know, that we will need petroleum-based 
     fuels for the foreseeable future and we should produce some 
     of our own.
       I think the ethanol projects are a joke as corn is a food 
     product that has so many other uses.
     Brandon, Idaho Falls.
                                  ____

       The most difficult part of paying so much at the pump is 
     feeling that the whole situation is--at best--the fault of 
     our Washington politicians who have been influenced by 
     environmentalists who seem determined to return our lifestyle 
     to the horse and buggy era.
       The most vital step in all you propose is to start claiming 
     our drilling rights in the gulf and to pass legislation which 
     allows us to take advantage of our own oil reserves. The 
     environmentalists have hijacked this whole country by tying 
     the hands of oil companies, who would doubtless do everything 
     possible to lessen our dependence on foreign oil by drilling 
     within our own borders.
     Deborah.

                          ____________________