[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 18, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3365-S3367]
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:

       Gas prices have not only affected our family for our 
     vehicle but also in heating fuel. We live 15 miles from town 
     and from our jobs, costing us an increase of $400-500 a 
     month. Our heating bills went from $89 to $389 a month. That 
     has had great impact our family. I am sure that it has on 
     many families. Our hope is that our legislators will find us 
     the resources that available to lower the costs. The cost of 
     living is above our wages for many people. Be it the wind and 
     solar power something needs to done. Thank you for your time.
     Cindy.
                                  ____

       Thanks for the opportunity to comment. I am an architect 
     and travel to construction sites. It is obvious. The cost 
     goes up so I compromise with my clients; the price goes up a 
     little to them and my already slim margin goes down. 
     Everything is affected: transportation costs more so building 
     materials cost more so we get less buildings and 
     infrastructure for our money. My family gets to do less 
     together.
       The nonsense is everywhere. In Boise our Mayor wants to 
     reinstitute a street car system. Why not create better bus 
     schedules so people will ride and save billions? The 
     ``environmentalists'' do not want us to recover our own 
     resources because they are looking at the processes of oil, 
     timber and mining of 50 and 100 years ago, not giving credit 
     to the enormous progress those industries have made in their 
     processes.
       We have become a nation that consumes exponentially more 
     than it produces. If we do not repair that imbalance, it will 
     consume us destructively! Get the supply side in balance. Use 
     our own resources. Bring much manufacturing home. (The unions 
     have already priced themselves out of the market. They may 
     have to give a little.) Extract our own resources in the 
     environmentally safe and sound ways that are now known. Then 
     do not export our resources.
       Lastly, as I have been saying for 20 years, explore and 
     support development of all logical alternative energy 
     sources.
       Thanks for the opportunity to do my own pontificating!!
     David, Boise.
                                  ____

       Because all of the food in our area is trucked in the price 
     of groceries is naturally going to go up. I worry about the 
     young people that do not have large incomes and have

[[Page S3366]]

     families to feed. Please be our voice of reason in this tough 
     time our wages stay the same and everything else rises. 
     Please do not let the rich run this country! Thank you for 
     listening.
     Sheila, Idaho Falls.
                                  ____

       Build nuclear energy plants.
       Open ANWR, Wyoming, Utah and etc. The Great Salt Lake is 
     covering a bed of oil, a little sludgy, but oil just the 
     same, found by the only ``off shore'' rig set up there in the 
     late 70s or early 80s.
       Fight for our right to open up our off shore oil 
     possibilities.
       Tax incentives for solar energy for hot water, heating 
     homes.
     Nancy.
                                  ____

       Thank you, Mr. Crapo, for this opportunity. In addition to 
     my suggested impacts/solutions submitted yesterday, in 
     addition to the obvious need to drastically streamline the 
     NRC licensing process for nuclear reactors, perhaps the 
     single largest improvement to dropping the costs of virtually 
     all commodities, including crude oil, take all necessary 
     measures to regain the value of the U.S. dollar. Its record 
     weakness is impacting all market sectors virtually all 
     commodities purchased abroad.
     Paul.
                                  ____

       I think you should be pushing with all of your might to 
     ramp up drilling for oil anywhere within our country and 
     offshore. For too long, we have tried the policy of powder 
     puff energy programs, ethanol, and environmentalist-led no 
     drilling mandates. We are now trying to adjust our lives to 
     survive the ``raging successes'' this policy has delivered to 
     the American people. My family, my friends, and I are all 
     getting really mad about this whole situation. It is 
     blatantly obvious that our current policies are total 
     failures. If this cannot be seen by our elected 
     representatives, then maybe we need some new people capable 
     of rational thought.
       New technology, new power sources and innovative ways to 
     address our energy needs are embraced and supported by the 
     majority of Americans. However, the same majority fully 
     understands that it will take years, even decades, to 
     transition into these systems. While we are enduring this 
     transition, why punish ourselves with ever-escalating energy 
     costs by squandering our own natural resources.
       Last September, I made a wonderful trip to Eastern Europe 
     (former Iron Curtain countries). While enjoying a coffee at 
     an outside cafe in ``Old Warsaw'', an old Polish gentleman 
     walked up and politely asked if he could sit down and talk to 
     me. He knew we were speaking English but was unsure if we 
     were Americans, Canadians, Australians, etc. When I said we 
     were Americans and he was most welcome to sit down, he was 
     delighted. Without hesitation, he started in on me by saying 
     ``do not you Americans realize that oil is a global 
     commodity''? We all pay the world price per barrel. He 
     continued by saying that we were sitting on a ton of oil 
     resources that we ``smugly'' refuse to develop and thereby 
     raise the price of oil for everybody. Maybe, he said, you 
     guys can afford it but we cannot. ``We Poles simply cannot 
     understand why it is not obvious to you what the production 
     of 2 or 3 million barrels of oil per day by you Americans 
     from your own resources would do to prices and your own 
     reputation around the world''. What could I say? He was 
     right. Before leaving, the old man looked me straight in the 
     eye and said ``remember, no country is so rich that it can 
     afford to squander it is natural resources''.
       Drilling is a winner in many ways. By increasing supply we 
     will temper, even lower prices for crude. We will decrease 
     our dependence on hostile foreign suppliers whose production 
     can be disrupted at any time by a few radical people. New, 
     well-paying jobs for Americans will be developed. National 
     security will be advanced by not depending on anyone for our 
     energy needs. Last, but not least, we will always need 
     petroleum. I do not care what energy source drives our cars 
     in the future, they will roll on tires made from petroleum, 
     their bearings and moving parts will be lubricated and cooled 
     by petroleum based products. Our homes will be built with 
     plumbing pipes made from petroleum. The plastics used in cars 
     and untold millions of domestic uses are all petroleum based.
       It is finally time we let the radical environmentalists 
     know that we gave them their chance to lead us to the energy 
     promised land and they have failed totally. The 
     environmentalists have always been a noisy bunch while the 
     rational thinkers have sat in the background. This is 
     starting to change; the regular people are getting worked up 
     and involved. Some meaningful new direction is now being 
     demanded. The one thing we have not tried is drill and 
     increase supply along with some new refining capability. We, 
     at last, are getting tired of paying unbelievable prices and 
     sending all the money offshore. We are getting tired of 
     watching a bunch of pompous politicians hold stupid hearings 
     and try to lay the whole problem at the feet of ``Big Oil''. 
     Contrary to popular opinion, we are a little smarter than 
     that. I do not think the politicians realize what absolute 
     fools they are making of themselves. Are we supposed to take 
     our business to ``Little Oil''?
       Bottom line, this issue is so big and important, something 
     is going to happen, and you can count on it. Pie in the sky 
     dreams will not make it, business as usual will not make it, 
     and only straight forward policies that address our real 
     energy needs in the shortest possible time will make it. It 
     is popular among the liberal opposition to say that we cannot 
     drill our way out of this problem. Our answer should be that 
     we have tried all of your ideas and things have only gotten 
     worse. It is people like you liberals who say we cannot drill 
     and succeed, why should the average American believe your 
     analysis when you have done nothing but fail in a huge way.
     Denny.
                                  ____

       I have no answer to the problem other than I know doing 
     nothing is not the answer. If 80% of Americans are in favor 
     of offshore drilling, then why are we not doing it? I would 
     like to see the government say to auto manufacturer who are 
     building cars in America with only 100% American-made auto 
     parts, build a car that can run with whatever fuel that does 
     not need gas and we will do something to help you. I am 80 
     years old and not smart enough to know what that is or how to 
     do it but if the incentive was there it would get done and 
     make jobs for Americans.
     Harold.
                                  ____

       I send this letter and information speaking for myself as 
     an individual and not the INL. I am a senior engineer at the 
     Idaho National Laboratory with 19 years of experience working 
     here doing heat transfer modeling. I received a Masters 
     Degree in Mechanical Engineering from BYU in 1989. I just 
     recently submitted a patent to the U.S. patent office through 
     the INL concerning a method to create all of our liquid 
     transportation fuels with a new process we are researching. 
     The process uses high temperature steam electrolysis (HTSE) 
     to produce hydrogen, with electricity supplied by non-fossil 
     power plants. Biomass is used as the carbon source and heat 
     source for this cycle. When combining the biomass 
     gasification products with the hydrogen produced from HTSE, 
     liquid hydrocarbon fuels can be created with such processes 
     as the Fischer-Tropsch process. With this process, we could 
     make 13 million barrels of liquid hydrocarbon transportation 
     fuel each day that would go along with 7 million barrels 
     produced from U.S. oil supplies for the total of 20 million 
     barrels per day that we currently use. This means that we 
     would not need to import any oil from anyone. The success of 
     this process includes a huge amount of fossil-free 
     electricity. This can only be done with several hundred large 
     nuclear electricity power plants. These plants do not need to 
     be the NGNP or GEN-IV plants, but would be beneficial if they 
     are. The biomass gasification would supply the heat source 
     for the HTSE. We do not need an NGNP to supply the heat 
     source for the HTSE. This process converts more than 90% of 
     the carbon in the biomass to liquid fuels, while cellulosic 
     ethanol converts only 30%.
       I am absolutely convinced after many years of thinking 
     about this that this will solve our nation's energy problems. 
     In order to accomplish this feat, the following needs to 
     occur:
       (1) Increase the DOE funding for researching this promising 
     cycle by:
       (a) Analyze, Develop, and Build a small scale version of 
     this production facility using Eastern Idaho biomass and 
     create liquid hydrocarbon transportation fuels.
       (b) Drastically increase the funding for High Temperature 
     Steam Electrolysis performance, reliability, mass production, 
     and cost.
       (c) Send funding to solve the nuclear fuel cycle for 
     recycling nuclear waste.
       (2) With this huge increase in electrical power production 
     capacity, drastically increase the fleet of U.S. vehicles 
     using the plug-in hybrid methodology. These plug-in hybrids 
     solve our social need to be able to use electricity for short 
     trips to work each day, or liquid hydrocarbon fuels in a long 
     trip across the country. These are absolutely the way to go 
     as they are very fuel efficient and let us keep our wonderful 
     life-style that we enjoy here in America.
       (3) Absolutely under no circumstance invoke the ``carbon 
     tax''. This will only send money from the rich nations to the 
     poor nations. If I ever hear anyone use the phrase ``carbon 
     tax'' again, it shows how uneducated they are on this topic. 
     The only source of carbon to the earth's atmosphere is the 
     combustion of fossil fuels. This is a one way street for the 
     carbon from underground to the earth's atmosphere where it 
     will stay for many hundreds if not thousands of years. This 
     phrase needs to be renamed ``fossil tax''. You can only tax 
     people that take the carbon out of the ground and sell it to 
     be combusted and put in the atmosphere. All of the other 
     carbon in the world like ethanol production needs to be left 
     alone, because it only recycles carbon from the atmosphere 
     back to the atmosphere again.
       Thank you for your attention to this email. I would dearly 
     love to go over all of this with you in person. Please let me 
     know how we can meet together.
     Grant.
                                  ____

       I thank you for the opportunity to share with you my views 
     on climate change. My husband and I recently made the 
     decision for me to stay home with our 9-month-old daughter. 
     Even though this has impacted our monthly income, we 
     nevertheless feel the increased fuel prices are a good thing 
     for our nation. It is about time we start paying the real 
     price of oil. When I hear stories of friends selling their 
     trucks for smaller cars, I grin ear-to-ear. For me, the high 
     prices have caused me to limit my trips to town

[[Page S3367]]

     and purchase more goods online (especially from sites where 
     the shipping is free). For my husband, he will begin 
     commuting to work by bike two days/week. The concept of 
     drilling for more domestic oil is a Band-aid approach to our 
     need for more oil. We would not see the results for years and 
     they would only be short-lived. Instead, states should be 
     focused on building city infrastructure and public 
     transportation systems to accommodate the new reality of high 
     fuel prices. As a nation, we should provide incentives for 
     alternative energy research. As a resident of Boise, I am 
     more than willing to utilize the bus system. However, Valley 
     Ride severely lacks what the Treasure Valley would need to 
     make it an appealing option. I came from a city where I 
     utilized two forms of public transportation a day (bus and 
     light rail). It was a inconvenient in some ways but mostly 
     wonderful considering I saved on gas money, read my book and 
     felt great about doing `my part' to help the environment. 
     Besides helping residents, a new and innovative public 
     transportation system appeals to those visiting our beautiful 
     valley as well. Our infrastructure and public transportation 
     system in the Treasure Valley lacks the innovation, 
     efficiency and foresight to become a real option for those 
     feeling the crunch of high gas prices. It is too bad that as 
     a nation, state, and county we are so reactive to issues like 
     this rather than leaders! Why not address the local changes 
     that we can make right here and now that will only continue 
     to benefit and serve us going forward?
     Allison, Boise.
                                  ____

       Thank you for giving me the opportunity to tell how the 
     rising cost of gasoline is affecting my family. Just 
     yesterday, I had to cancel reservations I had made back in 
     March for a family vacation to the Oregon Coast in September. 
     This ``yurt'' vacation was going to be the highlight of our 
     year. In fact, we had been planning it since early in March. 
     Already living on a tight budget, this simple vacation would 
     have been an extravagance for us. But I was only able to 
     budget up to $4 a gallon for gas. Now that the price of gas 
     has reached the $4 mark and is expected to be much higher by 
     September, we had no choice but to cancel. We will be taking 
     a ``staycation'' instead.
       My husband and I share one automobile and are already 
     conservative with our driving. Most days, he drives from our 
     house to the nearest bus stop (about 3 miles) to take a 
     crowded bus to work in downtown Boise. On the one to two days 
     a week that I need the car to drive to work, I have to get 
     him to and from the bus. We have been doing this for over a 
     year now. Our budget already required this of us when gas 
     prices were under $3 a gallon. We seem to have no other way 
     to cut back. My husband has been trying to get a job near 
     where we live which would enable him to ride his bicycle to 
     work but, so far, he hasn't been able to. For us, driving 
     less to save dollars at the pump means giving up some time we 
     would usually spend visiting with family and friends, most of 
     whom live 30 miles from us.
       Perhaps the biggest way this has affected my family is that 
     we have continued to be unable to afford health insurance. 
     Though my husband has had a couple of good raises over the 
     past year and a half (and is insured through his employer), 
     those raises were eaten up in rising fuel and grocery prices. 
     So, I have been unable to budget in the nearly $400 month it 
     would cost to put myself and our two boys on health 
     insurance.
       Again, thank you for this opportunity!
     Susan, Meridian.
                                  ____

       I do not know if this will really help you, but anything is 
     worth a try, especially for the whole of the United States.
       My story begins about a year ago, when I discovered I was 
     pregnant. My husband is blind! He receives SSI. Because of 
     this, if I work fulltime and gross $1,400 in a month, the 
     United States government takes away his SSI. OK, no problem. 
     If I claim our daughter and my husband, then not enough taxes 
     will be taken out, and I will owe at the end of the year and 
     struggle to pay what I will owe. If I do not claim our 
     daughter and my husband, then to survive every month will be 
     a challenge because my net income (take home) will be roughly 
     half and then that leaves little to pay the bills (as if we 
     have enough now). So I work parttime, and we still cannot pay 
     all our bills.
       Our electricity bill was over $200 in one month, during 
     this last winter. With our daughter being a newborn, we just 
     did not want to risk the temperature lower than 65 degrees, 
     which is where we kept our thermostat, just to try to keep 
     the electric bill down. We did receive energy assistance; 
     that helped. However we are still behind in our electric 
     bill, and, to be perfectly honest with you, if I was to work 
     fulltime, I could not afford the fuel in the car. My car is a 
     1989 GEO Tracker which gets up to 25-28 miles per gallon. So 
     where does that leave my husband, our daughter and me? Broke 
     and completely reliant on the government to survive, 
     especially with the cost of food going up. Our $900 stimulus 
     check is not going to the economy; it is going to pay credit 
     card debt, just as my income tax return did.
       Well, hopefully this will help you in your fight on Capitol 
     Hill.
     Chrissy, Sagle.

                          ____________________