[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 64 (Wednesday, April 29, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4886-S4888]
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:

       Saying that ``The continual increase in the cost of fuel is 
     affecting Idahoans'' is a major understatement. I, my 
     friends, my family, and a large number of my co-workers have 
     already cancelled a number summer activities and vacations 
     here in Idaho due to the price increases. All fuel 
     consumption has been whittled down to just bare necessities 
     such as only driving to work, school, and to purchase 
     groceries. And because of the gas prices, all store products 
     have increased tremendously. My family pays approximately $50 
     to $60 more each week for our basic routine groceries.
       I recently found out that my husband and I did not draw on 
     the hunts we put in for this year. And, instead of being 
     disappointed, we were somewhat relieved because of the money 
     that we would have had to spend in order to hunt. We sold our 
     snowmobiles this spring because of the money it would take us 
     in the future to trailer them and keep them operational. I am 
     considering selling my horse trailer because I cannot afford 
     to trailer my horse anywhere. People are trying to unload 
     their horses and stock because the price of hay has literally 
     doubled and they cannot afford to feed their animals. Finding 
     hay is a chore in itself because the majority of it is being 
     purchased and transferred out of state. All outdoor 
     activities have come to a screeching halt. And not only for 
     my family but for many, many others.
       Half of the raise I received at work this past year went to 
     the increase in bus transportation to work; the other half 
     went to the

[[Page S4887]]

     increase in my benefits. And with the continual increase in 
     fuel prices (which affect the cost of all other things like 
     groceries, and utilities) I cannot even say I ``broke even.'' 
     I am actually behind the economy. The bus services at work 
     are considering raising the cost of the bus passes again 
     because of the fuel cost. People are starting to carpool, and 
     the traffic to work has increased tremendously, and that has 
     increased the danger factor of more accidents. Some of my co-
     workers have purchased motorcycles because they use less 
     fuel. One employee out here at the site had a near-fatal 
     accident when he collided with an antelope while riding his 
     motorcycle to work.
       How sad is it that I had to tell my son that if he made 
     All-Stars in baseball this year, he may not get the chance to 
     play because we cannot afford the trips out of town. We had 
     planned a family trip to Mount Rushmore this summer, and my 
     husband and I told our children that that trip is not likely 
     going to happen. My Power Stroke diesel truck stays parked in 
     the garage and only gets run occasionally to keep in 
     operating well.
       Everyone seems to have put the ``living'' in their lives on 
     hold and have been going through the motions of just getting 
     by hoping that there will be a break in this gloom. People 
     keep saying ``something has got to give'', ``something has 
     got to happen'' and the only thing happening is the continual 
     increase in the cost of gas. This week my husband filled two 
     portable gas cans at a local gas station so we can mow and 
     weed-eat our yard. When he returned home, he held up both gas 
     cans and said ``You are looking at over $40 worth of gas 
     here''.
       I hear a number of reasons and theories to why fuel has 
     skyrocketed. No one seems to know for sure, but we are all 
     (unhappily) trying to live with the effects of it. Thank you 
     for the opportunity to be heard.
     Andrea.
                                  ____

       We are a retired couple. I work to provide the extras, 
     which these days are anything except the absolute necessities 
     for life. We have always been a conserving family, having 
     lived in Phoenix, Arizona, previously for 25+ years. We have 
     compact fluorescent bulbs throughout our 3,200-square foot 
     home, costly energy saving insulation, ceiling fans, we cook 
     and heat with natural gas, and we do have a huge 1,800-square 
     foot garden and orchard but water efficiently and preserve 
     all our produce and fruit. We have central air conditioning 
     but only use it during the hottest part of hot days.
       About 2\1/2\ years ago, foreseeing that gasoline was going 
     to become a major cost, we traded our gas guzzling 9 mpg 
     Chevrolet Trail Blazer for a vehicle which gets about 17-20 
     mpg in town. We combine our errands to more efficiently use 
     gasoline. We have not taken a traveling vacation in four or 
     five years as gas costs too much.
       We also financially aid an 18-year-old daughter at home 
     struggling to provide transportation for her to a part-time 
     job and college classes. We have a married child we have had 
     to financially help as they acquire more education to 
     increase their earning capacity. We have done all we can on 
     our limited retirement incomes to conserve. We still suffer 
     and financially fall further behind every year.
       In the past this was caused by tremendous premium increases 
     in our health insurance premiums combined with increases in 
     the cost of electricity and natural gas. Roughly two years 
     ago when gas rose to $2 per gallon and continued to increase, 
     we started observing and feeling the impact of rising fuel 
     cost as it affects every item we consume or use.
       Recently our 32-year-old son came to live with us as he 
     could not support himself any longer living in Phoenix. We 
     felt that big time in the food budget.
       We recently had a family meeting and we as a family are 
     doing or not doing the following trying to be proactive so as 
     not to have to sell our home, fall behind in our debt paying 
     or being in a position of bankruptcy.
       Conservation of water, limited showers, laundry and running 
     of dishwasher. No more gas money for daughter; she must now 
     limit her trips for anything other than work or school. 
     Computer and accessories are turned off at end of day. No 
     wasting of food, take smaller portions. No extra goodies at 
     the grocery store. (We have always primarily shopped at 
     Winco.) Hardly any entertaining; cannot afford the food cost. 
     No more lights left or TVs running and no one watching. 
     Waiting longer to turn the AC on and turning the thermostat 
     higher. The stimulus check (which is a waste of government 
     money) is in our saving account. Will probably have to use it 
     for gas or food.
       I have all but lost my job as no one has the money to spend 
     at the business where I am barely employed. Also I was 
     working full time 40 + hours at the Outer Limits Fun Zone. In 
     January my hours were cut to 16 hours or less per week and 
     June 26 my hours were reduced to a mere 6 hours weekly. Yes, 
     I am going to have to find at least another part-time job to 
     stay afloat.
       If this keeps up I do not know if we can survive. It is 
     getting real scary!! Thanks for listening,
     Brenda.
                                  ____

       I drive from Middleton to Boise 5 days a week to work. The 
     traffic is heavy and sometimes slow. I wish there was a 
     motorcycle lane on the freeway for those that want to ride 
     our motorcycles to work. It costs a lot less to ride a 
     motorcycle than a car. My husband rides his motorcycle to 
     work every day when weather permits. He spends $7 per week. 
     That is a relief for us, since his truck would cost a lot 
     more to fill up.
       Nuclear power--I do not believe we need to pollute the 
     Earth with this poison. During World War II, our government 
     paid scientists to develop the nuclear bomb. These people 
     worked hard, until they were successful in their endeavors. 
     Why then can not we do the same to find other non-pollutes 
     forms of energy?
       It is imperative that we do not continue to pollute the 
     Earth. When a natural disaster happens, like floods, 
     earthquakes, etc., the poisons of the Earth hunt mankind. Let 
     us learn from what is happening around the world--disasters, 
     and let us develop forms of energy that will not come back to 
     haunt us later.
     Telma.
                                  ____

       You asked Idahoans to share their stories of how high 
     energy prices are affecting us. Many of us in Adams County 
     and surrounding areas face an even greater crisis than the 
     high cost of energy. We are being denied fuel to heat our 
     homes. And it is not the big oil companies or OPEC that are 
     leaving us out in the cold. It is the U.S. Forest Service.
       As you know, all of America's national forests are required 
     to develop new Travel Management Plans to designate roads and 
     motorized trails in order to curtail indiscriminate cross-
     country motorized travel and protect natural resources. 
     Private citizens, our Adams County Commissioners, and the 
     Adams Natural Resource Committee have worked diligently with 
     the Payette National Forest for the past two years to try to 
     craft a reasonable, pragmatic travel plan. After all, the 
     Payette National Forest makes up nearly two-thirds of the 
     land in our county. It is important to us to be good stewards 
     of our public land while maintaining access for work and 
     play. For many residents of Adams County, that access 
     includes the ability to gather firewood to heat our homes.
       Throughout the NEPA process for the Travel Management Plan, 
     we submitted hundreds of comments regarding the importance of 
     firewood collection for personal use. Many families in west-
     central Idaho continue to heat their homes exclusively or 
     primarily with wood. However, the Forest Supervisor has 
     determined that firewood gathering is a ``non-significant 
     issue,'' according to the FEIS. Decisionmakers seem 
     determined to move ahead with the alternative that closes all 
     roads on the forest unless they are designated open. In 
     addition, wood cutters would be limited to traveling no more 
     than 300 feet from a designated road to retrieve firewood. I 
     invite you to come drive the few roads that will remain open 
     to motorized travel and try to find enough firewood that 
     meets all of the current and proposed restrictions. You 
     quickly will see why so many Idahoans are hot about these 
     unnecessarily restrictive regulations.
       Firewood is a renewable bio-fuel, not a fossil fuel that is 
     expensive to locate, extract, refine and distribute. Under 
     former firewood guidelines, with careful scouting, we were 
     able to find suitable firewood within 20 to 30 miles of our 
     homes. Under the proposed firewood restrictions, we may have 
     to travel 60 to 80 miles each time we need to bring home a 
     load of wood. And each household will have to make several of 
     those lengthy, fuel-consuming trips each year to lie in 
     enough wood for the winter. In addition, as accessible 
     firewood becomes more and more scarce because of these 
     restrictions, we will see more user conflicts, resource 
     damage, and accidents among woodcutters forced into close 
     proximity.
       The solution to this problem is obvious. The Payette 
     National Forest can simply designate all existing forest 
     roads open to motorized travel unless specific resource 
     concerns necessitate closure. Remember, the purpose of the 
     national rule was to control indiscriminate cross-country 
     travel. The directive is to keep motorized vehicles on 
     the roads and trails. Blanket closures of more roads and 
     trails does not accomplish that goal. In fact, such 
     sweeping closures are counterintuitive. Nor has the Forest 
     conducted a thorough analysis of existing roads and 
     trails, despite our repeated requests. Furthermore, these 
     extensive closures create a genuine hardship for Idaho 
     families who are trying to heat their homes efficiently 
     and economically, using renewable biomass that is close to 
     home, rather than scarce fossil fuels from halfway around 
     the world.
       Please restore some sanity to this process. Encourage the 
     Payette Forest Supervisor to select the less radical and less 
     onerous alternative for the new Travel Management Plan. By 
     designating all existing forest roads open unless otherwise 
     marked, she will make it possible for rural Idahoans to 
     continue to gather firewood from our National Forest. At the 
     same time, she will help better distribute use across the 
     forest, rather than concentrating users on few roads and 
     condensed areas, which would actually accelerate damage to 
     the resource, increase user conflicts, and raise the risk of 
     accidents when too many woodcutters converge in smaller and 
     smaller confines.
       Let us utilize renewable biomass while reducing the 
     wildfire fuel load in our backyard. Thank you for supporting 
     responsible use of our natural resources and our public 
     lands.
     Wendy, Indian Valley.
                                  ____

       I am glad you are willing to listen to the residents of 
     Idaho. Gas prices continue to amaze me and we have cut back 
     on traveling

[[Page S4888]]

     as much as possible. As a result in increased fuel prices, 
     food prices continue to climb as do electricity costs. 
     Unfortunately, salaries and benefits do not continue to rise 
     as well.
       I know that it is hard to know what to do to help the 
     situation, but I have one solution that would benefit us. Get 
     rid of daylight savings. Not only do my children (and I) have 
     a hard time adjusting to the time change every spring and 
     fall, but I honestly feel it causes us to use more energy. We 
     have to stay up until nearly midnight every night just to 
     allow the house to cool down. My children also stay up later 
     because it is still light outside until 10 p.m. so it is easy 
     to lose track of time. I believe one of the states did a 
     study as well and found that daylight savings does indeed 
     cause us to use more energy not less. My son just returned 
     from visiting family in Arizona, and he is ready to do away 
     with daylight savings as well. Please consider this as a 
     potential help to our energy problems.
     Sheryl.
                                  ____

       I am a 73-year-old senior trying to live on Social Security 
     and a bit of other income. Over 2 years ago, we took 
     guardianship of a great-granddaughter; her mother is 
     incarcerated due to meth addiction. We have a diabetic 
     daughter whose kidneys failed; she is now undergoing 
     treatment three times a week. She nearly bled to death three 
     times in one month, as she was home sleeping and her shunts 
     opened. They had to close them off and use a chest catheter 
     now. She is scheduled for a triple bypass and to correct a 
     heart defect on July 8.
       We are so grateful to still have her with us. We have to 
     help her with her many bills (medical, food, gas etc.), as 
     she lives alone in a small house about 3 miles from us. She 
     still is able to enjoy some freedom in her life, as long as 
     we can afford all this. I do not know how long we can do 
     this. She is able to get some assistance, but not nearly 
     enough.
       My husband, who will be 77 in August, has gone back to work 
     on a temporary job at the INEL, for as long as he can handle. 
     He is gone 12 hours a day from home.
       Yesterday, I went to Wal-Mart, and a 5-pound block of 
     cheddar cheese was $18.97 per cube.
       Just how much can this go on? Why was this allowed to go on 
     at all? With an energy bill all these years. As far as I am 
     concerned, everyone who voted against these bills [was not 
     considering the long-term. Now the American public is paying 
     for the short-sightedness of these actions.]
     Lydia, Idaho Falls.
                                  ____

       I am writing in concerns to the raising gas prices and how 
     it is affecting me. I currently work full-time as a paper 
     delivery person. I have nine routes between two paper 
     companies, the Spokesman Review and the Daily Bee. Last year 
     I was forced to pick up more routes within my area just so I 
     could pay for gas and still support my three little girls. 
     This year as gas continues to climb, I am forced to go to 
     work cleaning houses on the side during the day, on top of my 
     paper routes. I am a mother who was working nights so I could 
     be home with my kids and not pay someone else to raise my 
     kids for me. Last year I started home schooling my two 
     school-age children due to lack of faith in the public school 
     system. My kids love it and are excelling now where one was 
     behind at the beginning of last year.
       Now I face trying to juggle two jobs, my own schooling and 
     the schooling of two of my children. I am trying to better 
     myself, and every time things look up financially, the cost 
     of gas or something else goes up, but the cost of living and 
     the going pay rates stay the same. Tell me how a single 
     mother of three is supposed to get out of poverty when the 
     cost of everything, especially gas for those who work in the 
     service industry, is going up faster than the money is coming 
     in. I am not looking for hand-outs; I just want things to be 
     reasonable. When delivering papers, you can have a walk route 
     or motor route. The motor routes get paid twice to three 
     times as much as the walk routes. I have walk routes but so 
     many papers that I have to drive, not to mention the wear and 
     tear of the stop and go of the job. I also have to porch 90 
     percent of my papers, which has caused wear and tear on my 
     body that cannot be fixed. I feel that a paper route is a 
     paper route, and you should get the same rate per paper, not 
     a different rate for different mileage. What about the miles 
     on my body that is twice as much as someone with a motor 
     route? I would like to see changes in the way we are 
     reimbursed for gas because 40 cents to the gallon, when a 
     gallon is $4 just is not fair for anyone.
     Accalia, Sandpoint.
                                  ____

       Our family has cut back on the use of our auto. We have a 
     high mileage Honda Civic that gets 40+ mpg on trips but we 
     only make a trip when we have to. We combine errands and use 
     the car for dual tasks. We will walk or carpool when 
     possible.
       Now I have an immediate short-term solution to the high 
     price of gas, jet fuel, and diesel. It involves our 
     government subsidizing the cost of energy to hold the price 
     of gas at around $2.50 a gallon to the consumer. It would not 
     increase the Federal Government's budget. You could simply 
     eliminate all the pork packages added to about every bill 
     that is passed. You could also eliminate the subsidies to the 
     big oil companies and, if necessary, eliminate the 
     agricultural subsidies, especially the ethanol support. What 
     I am saying is that if government would use the taxpayers' 
     money with frugality and common sense, they would have the 
     resources to hold the price of fuel down until a permanent 
     solution surfaces. If we do not get a handle on the rising 
     cost of fuel our economy and the economies of the world will 
     be destroyed.
     Jerry, Boise.

                          ____________________