[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 50 (Tuesday, March 24, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3651-S3653]
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:

       Several years ago, the President, in his State of the Union 
     message, noted that our nation was ``addicted to oil''. Well, 
     that is the first step of recovery, to admit you have a 
     problem, but it is not recovery. My wife and I decided to do 
     something about it. We built a smaller home (downsized from 
     3,300 to 1,600 sq feet) right on the Greenbelt in the 
     Waterfront District of Garden City. That cut our commute down 
     from about 7 miles, one way, to 3-4 and eliminated a 300 foot 
     climb/descent. Before the move, we already owned small, fuel 
     efficient vehicles and bike commuted about 50 percent of the 
     time. Now we rarely drive and find we get places faster than 
     by car and do not have to worry about parking. Both of our 
     cars sit in the garage and we plan to sell one shortly.
       Our monthly auto fuel bill has gone from about $60 to 
     almost nothing. Our home gas bill went from near $100/mo to 
     under $30. Electric is down to $30 from $90. Water is down to 
     $30 from over $200 in summer and it takes me about 10 minutes 
     to mow my small lawn with a push mower.
       The Greenbelt is my highway now, and I get in about 100 
     miles per week just peddling around town. I look forward to 
     my commutes along the river where I dodge geese and squirrels 
     instead of road warriors on the Connector. The exercise 
     improves both my mental and physical health.
       I still interact with cars when I head cross town and am 
     amazed at the madness in the streets. It feels like drivers 
     are in such a hurry, and it appears that Idaho's current 
     public transportation policy seems to be ``one multi-tasking 
     in a hurry somewhat angry person per SUV''.
       Remaining addicted to oil can create a host of problems 
     including:
       Driving up the price of fuel for everyone (simple supply/
     demand equation)
       Adding to our rapidly deteriorating air quality in the 
     Treasure Valley
       Creating the need for additional roads and parking (and 
     more taxes)

[[Page S3652]]

       Creating windfall profits for oil producing (and not always 
     friendly) nations including Saudi, Russia and Venezuela
       Adding to global warming
       Creating a need to ``defend'' oil resources around the 
     world
       Now that gas prices are going up, I hear that Americans are 
     beginning to make changes. They are driving less and taking 
     advantage of alternative transportation. Let us build on that 
     momentum and not feed our addiction to oil by rushing to 
     lower prices. I just read about America's most bike friendly 
     cities including Portland, Seattle and even Chicago. Instead 
     of spending Billions to build more roads and parking lots, 
     let us bust our addiction to oil by making Idaho America's 
     most bike friendly state. And while we are at it, let us 
     create the best public transit system in the world. Let us 
     seize the future instead of clinging to the past.
     William.
                                  ____

       The cost of fuel this year has impacted my family heavily; 
     I have actually had to change over to working from home at a 
     reduced income as fuel expenses reached a point that I was 
     spending more on fuel to get to work than I was earning.
       I have not filled up my truck with diesel since it was at 
     $3.65 a gallon, and currently it is an average of $4.77 to 
     $4.85 a gallon. To think that this time last year I was 
     paying $2.39 a gallon for the same thing; that is an 
     astonishing increase of $2.46 a gallon in 1 year. (When I had 
     first purchased my truck in early 2007 it cost me around $65 
     to fill it up, and now it costs closer to $140.)
       The fuel prices have also had a severe impact on my finding 
     better paying employment as I cannot afford to get out and 
     look for work that is not within walking distance and have 
     been told by several prospective employers that they cannot 
     hire me due to fuel costs cutting their budget by up to half.
       I have much more I would like to say, but would prefer to 
     keep this short as I know you are a busy man, I will however 
     point out a book to you for your consideration that deals 
     with this very issue, unfortunately it is out of print due to 
     threats to the author's family but I have found a website 
     with it available to read. I hope that you will read it and 
     glean the same insight out of it that I have, and be able to 
     take action that I am unable to regarding it: http://
www.reformation.org/energy-non-crisis.html.
       America desperately needs to break itself of foreign oil 
     dependency and lift the blocks on domestic drilling and 
     refining.
     Daniel.
                                  ____

       Thank you for this opportunity to send you my thoughts and 
     opinions on a very important subject--Energy in Idaho!
       I am in a position to offer you some unique feedback based 
     on my current employment and the issues I am addressing. I 
     realize that skyrocketing gas and diesel prices are on 
     everyone's mind, but there are other areas in the energy 
     picture that are also very challenging. I wish to address the 
     quickly rising costs of utilities in our state. Everything 
     from how buildings and homes are heated and cooled to drawing 
     the electricity we need to live our daily lives.
       I speak with people every day from all walks of life in 
     Idaho who are concerned about future costs of heating and 
     cooling their home as well as turning on the lights or 
     running the A/C in the summertime. They are serious about 
     wanting to make a change to a more sustainable lifestyle. 
     They just need a small financial push to get them to the 
     other side.
       My company designs, installs and services renewable energy 
     systems for homes, commercial and industrial buildings as 
     well as farms and other agriculture uses. I field phone calls 
     and e-mails from almost every walk of life (doctors, lawyers, 
     school teachers, government workers, businessmen, housewives, 
     farmers, religious etc.). There is no stereotype or 
     classification one can use to identify people interested in 
     renewable energy--it is everyone!
       Our company has been in business almost five years, and we 
     install wind, solar and geoexchange (aka geothermal) systems 
     in Idaho. We have worked from Twin Falls to Coeur d'Alene, 
     and have spoken with many in between about their sincere 
     desire to obtain renewable energy solutions in their lives. 
     People want to look up at their solar array on their roof or 
     the wind turbine out on their property and feel a sense of 
     comfort that they are in control over a portion of their 
     energy usage per year. Others are paying $700 to $900 a month 
     to heat their modest-sized homes on propane or fuel oil. They 
     come begging for help through our geoexchange systems. Over 
     and over, the main hurdle is upfront costs. As you may know, 
     renewable energy generally requires a person to invest 
     upfront in a system such as a wind turbine, solar array or 
     geoexchange.
       Many of the states around us (Oregon, Washington and Utah 
     that we have researched), offer substantial financial 
     assistance to citizens wishing to make the transition to 
     renewable energy. Idaho currently sticks out as a sore thumb 
     when it comes to helping its people invest and obtain 
     renewable energy systems. Both the state and the state's 
     utilities could do more to help people make this critical 
     transition to a more sustainable life style. I would ask you 
     to please support any well written pieces of legislation that 
     allow Idahoans to obtain something they really want--
     renewable energy!!!
       Thank you for your time and I would be more than happy to 
     expand further on our experiences and knowledge as it relates 
     to this very important topic.
     Jeff, Boise.
                                  ____

       My family has set travel needs for work and some other 
     obligations that cannot be changed for obvious reasons; just 
     going for a recreational ride has long ago been cut out of 
     our budget. Now with the horrendous increases in gasoline and 
     food we are scrambling to keep our heads above water. We can 
     cope with this condition very long without serious 
     consequences.
       If there were no options available that would be one thing, 
     but to think that our government is not allowing the oil 
     companies to go after the resources that are available in our 
     own country and place this burden on our citizens for the 
     foolishness of the global warming fraud or the slogan of 
     being green, is unconceivable in my opinion. The Congress 
     needs to stop trying to socialize the oil companies and all 
     of us for that matter, we are not stupid, and we can see what 
     they are trying to do.
       Our government is not listening to its constituents and it 
     time for the people to find a way to remind the governing 
     body that they work for the people and not the other way 
     around. This not the way the framers of the Constitution 
     intended it to work.
     Craig.
                                  ____

       Thanks for the email concerning the price of high gas. I 
     feel that a lot of times our Representatives could care less 
     about the lower income people in the United States and more 
     about keeping the foreign policies in place. It is really 
     appreciate that you still care.
       I live on a small farm in Newdale. It is about fifteen 
     miles east of Rexburg and near the Teton Dam. I have to 
     travel to work every day 30 miles round trip. Because of the 
     nature of my job, there is no other job closer. I try to 
     carpool with other employees when possible and drive a car 
     that gets very good gas mileage. However, it is still hurting 
     our way of live because of the price of gas. We have changed 
     our buying habits and are very careful about the amount of 
     trips we make to town and try to do as much in each trip as 
     we can to avoid making more trips.
       The problem we are facing is in our livestock business. We 
     raise sheep and it is a very good responsibility for my 
     children to have these chores to do daily. With the price of 
     gas and the high cost of feed, we are looking at having to 
     sell out simply because the profits are gone and we cannot 
     keep them losing money. We, as adults, can adapt to some of 
     these changes, but I am afraid with the loss of the 
     livestock, my children are going to suffer with 
     these responsibilities. What is going to happen to our 
     children if these prices keep going up and someone does 
     not make some changes? I hope the people we elect and put 
     on Capitol Hill will keep future generations of Americans 
     in mind when they make decisions. Thanks again for your 
     concern on this issue and keep up the good work.
     John, Newdale.
                                  ____

       Although I can empathize with many Americans at the lowest 
     income levels about the rising cost of energy, we need to 
     keep in mind we still pay less than many countries around the 
     world; e.g. $10 a gallon in Europe is not uncommon. We have 
     also exacerbated the problem by our choices; (extraordinarily 
     large houses, SUVs, frequent flying, etc.) In fact, Congress 
     actually approved a tax benefit in the not-too-distant past 
     that encouraged businesses to purchase higher weight 
     vehicles; i.e. SUVs. And as long as I see teenagers racing 
     past me in their cars, I have to question if the price has 
     become high enough.
       Drilling more oil just ``enables'' our wasteful habits. And 
     it will not put much of a dent in our total fuel consumption, 
     especially in the short term. It is time we get a grip on how 
     much energy all of us consume. And Congress needs to be 
     allocating funds towards energy research with a future (i.e. 
     Hydrogen, tidal, solar, etc.) versus energy with no future 
     that does not serve the American people; (i.e. ethanol.) I 
     have to amusingly ask myself how it was possible to get to 
     the moon in less than 10 years, yet we have not been able to 
     find a cheap, reliable energy alternative since the last 
     crisis that occurred in the 1970s? How quickly we forget once 
     we get on the other side of a crisis. The best short-term 
     solution is probably to encourage conservation until we get 
     through this ``bubble.'' We will produce more of a surplus 
     quicker than trying to drill our way out of this. But in the 
     long run, we need to have a serious commitment to alternative 
     energy and, frankly, alternative habits. Ironically, 
     increased gas taxes earmarked for alternative energy research 
     may be necessary at some point.
       With that said, my family has made these choices:
       We use scooters as our primary commute vehicle--75-100 mpg.
       We live in a smaller house (despite the urgings of our real 
     estate agent that we can afford so much more).
       We plan our errands to reduce fuel consumption.
       We limit use of air conditioning in the summer and keep our 
     house between 65 and 70 in the winter.
       We do not exceed speed limits on the freeway and, in fact, 
     often go somewhat slower.
       We live close to our needs; work, shopping, entertainment, 
     etc.
       We limit the use of plastics and recycle as much as 
     possible.

[[Page S3653]]

       We keep our waste to a minimum; (garbage truck idle time 
     while emptying barrels consumes fuel too!).
       We are polite to other motorists to reduce their wait/idle 
     time.
       We turn off lights/appliances/etc. when not in use.
       Reduced other expenditures to allocate more to energy where 
     necessary.
       I do not have time to continue; you get the idea. We did 
     not get into this mess in the short term; we will not get out 
     of it in the short term. Quit trying to politicize this; come 
     up with an achievable long-term plan and be honest about the 
     realities we face to the American people. But get a plan and 
     do it soon.
     John, Boise.
                                  ____

       My wife and I both have most of our extended family living 
     in Utah. Usually we visit two times per year. This year we 
     will not be going at all. Not only are plane flights becoming 
     unaffordable, but the cost it would normally take to go down 
     and back 10-12 hours is becoming unaffordable. We had planned 
     on going to Seattle this summer to see the sights because we 
     have never been there, but that too has been cancelled. 
     Because gas prices are up, so are hotels, eating out and 
     everything we purchase at the store.
       What we used to get grocery shopping for $200 now takes at 
     least $240-260. That adds up. We used to go out to eat more 
     frequently, but are doing so less and less because we have to 
     spend and have more to spend on gas to fill up. I used to let 
     my vehicles occasionally get below a half tank, but now, I 
     cannot afford to ever let them get below a half a tank before 
     filling up.
       My brother recently filled up his diesel truck which is 
     only 3 years old. It cost him $170 to fill it up. How 
     ridiculous is that? In a nutshell, because it costs more at 
     the pump, I travel less, eat out less, spend less on 
     groceries, which if you times that with all the other just 
     50,000 other people living in my community greatly affects 
     our economy. The owner of our Ford dealership in town 
     recently confided that he has not sold a truck in almost a 
     month. He is just one dealer, but imagine all the other 
     dealers nationwide who are feeling the impact of high gas 
     prices. It is hurting every aspect of our economy.
       What we as commonplace Americans get tired of is our 
     government leaders fighting amongst themselves so much and so 
     often that they cannot agree on a policy to help us with this 
     crisis. [Too many wealthy people don't have any idea of what 
     middle class Americans face,] so the price of a gallon of gas 
     does not really get taken into consideration because he or 
     she does not usually fill up their own cars; they are 
     chauffeured everywhere. Some of them have always been 
     chauffeured everywhere and are still ignorant of what we as 
     middleclass Americans are suffering. They live in houses and 
     drive cars 99% of us will never be able to afford. But, the 
     99% of us who struggle are getting tired of politicians not 
     legislating policy to build new refineries or freeing up some 
     of our reserves so gas prices can come down. We know 
     inflation exists, but this is insane!
       Nine out of the ten solutions that I hear being discussed 
     recently on the news will have no impact on the price at the 
     pump I am paying for at least five to ten years. Not to burst 
     your bubble, but we commonplace Americans [want leaders who 
     will do something now, not five or ten years from now]. If a 
     gallon of oil costs 5 cents when it pumped out of the ground 
     and between the time it leaves Saudi Arabia and gets to the 
     US, it escalates to over $3 a gallon, who is ripping us off? 
     The distributors are ripping us off, and they are the ones 
     who need to be penalized immediately.
       If you as our leaders [want] this great nation to come to a 
     grinding halt in travel, [if] you want most of the 
     restaurants, and movie theaters, and amusement parks, and 
     small businesses to keep declining in their profits, go ahead 
     and keep doing what you have been doing about escalating gas 
     prices, nothing But if you still have a heart left in you, 
     you will come up with solutions that will impact what we pay 
     at the pump--now!, not five, ten or twenty years from now 
     when gas will be so unaffordable that only the super rich 
     will be able to do anything!!
       Please do something now!
     Chris, Lewiston.
                                  ____

       Yes, Senator, the increase in fuel prices affects us. We 
     have not been able to take our family on a real vacation in 
     years, and we certainly will not this year with the 
     outrageous cost of gas.
       Having said that, it is just as important to me to see the 
     Idaho Delegation do something to save our wild salmon runs. I 
     get very frustrated that these ``hot'' issues receive so much 
     attention while we throw away billions on a barge and dam 
     system that does not work. If you and the rest of the Idaho 
     delegation continue to do nothing on this issue, your legacy 
     will be the extinction of Columbia/Snake salmon, the runs 
     that once were the most abundant in the world. And Idaho 
     river towns and fishing outfitters will continue to languish 
     economically because the runs are not healthy.
     Ted.
                                  ____

       I am taking a few minutes to respond to a request from 
     fellow Idahoans as to fuel costs. As you already know, Idaho 
     is not a greatly populated state (and that is not a bad 
     thing!). But, in my particular job requirements, I need to 
     travel throughout all of southeastern Idaho to attend to 
     cities that are in our service area. I do not have an option 
     of commuting or staying in the office and still be able to 
     provide the customer service to our members, as is necessary. 
     It had cost me about $40 to fill my car's tank with gas--now 
     it is costing about $52 for that same tank, (so the $120 I 
     was spending on fuel is now costing me about $208 per month). 
     That is almost a 100% increase.
     Donna, Idaho Falls.

                          ____________________