[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Page 1707]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                           NATURAL GAS PRICES

  Mrs. CARNAHAN. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about an issue 
that I know is a critical concern for all of my constituents the 
significant rise in natural gas prices in Missouri. As we are all 
aware, recent brutal temperatures and energy shortages have contributed 
to a dramatic rise in home heating bills.
  In Missouri, regulators recently approved a 44 percent rate increase 
for natural gas purchased from one Missouri utility. The increase, from 
$6.81 to $9.82 for a thousand cubic feet of natural gas, is expected to 
continue into the summer and has posed serious problems for consumers.
  Imagine your gas bill doubling almost overnight. People tell me that 
they are putting off needed purchases because they don't have any extra 
money--it's all going to pay the gas bill. I am especially worried 
about the impact of high heating bills on our retirees who already have 
tight budgets.
  My phone lines have been barraged with distraught constituents who 
don't know how to make ends meet this winter. Just yesterday I heard 
from James Baldwin, an Army veteran and retired autoworker from 
Independence, MO. Mr. Baldwin, father of four and grandfather of five, 
worked at the Ford Assembly Plant in Kansas City for almost 36 years. 
Like most constituents, Mr. Baldwin has tried to cut down on energy 
usage by dressing warmer and weatherproofing his home, as he is on a 
fixed income and doesn't have much room in his budget to accommodate 
large increases. Mr. Baldwin paid $99 for his gas bill in December 
1999. He was shocked, however, when, one year later, he received his 
bill and realized that his heating costs had almost tripled to $269. 
The skyrocketing increases continued last month as well. He doesn't 
know what he will do if increases of this size continue. Mr. Baldwin 
called my office to let me know about the hundreds of neighbors and 
autoworker retirees he hears from every day about this problem. He 
worries that many will fall through the cracks.
  The Mid-America Assistance Coalition, an agency that coordinates 
emergency assistance for the Kansas City metro area, where Mr. Baldwin 
lives, has reported getting 100 to 200 calls per day. Many of the calls 
are from single moms, the elderly and the ``working poor,'' or those 
who earn too much to qualify for standard energy assistance but cannot 
afford to pay their bills. According to the Coalition, this is the 
first time most of the callers have ever had to ask for assistance with 
their utility bills.
  Another constituent, Mrs. Doris Hill from Albany, Missouri, recently 
wrote to share her plight. Mrs. Hill is a low-income, 83-year-old 
widow. She wrote that she cannot afford to call even her own family 
long-distance. She lives on $460 a month from Social Security and a 
small interest income from savings. She struggles month-to-month and 
cannot afford large increases in her utility bills.
  This problem is not just limited to certain geographic areas or 
segments of our population. One letter I received was from Jeremy Lynn, 
a Boy Scout from Sikeston in Southeast Missouri. Jeremy wrote to share 
his concern about the effect that the high cost of gas is having on his 
family. Jeremy states that his father and other farmers are struggling 
to cope with fuel and natural gas price increases at a time when the 
prices they are being paid for their crops are the lowest they have 
received in 14 years. He is worried that many farmers will be forced 
out of business as a result.
  These and many other stories I have heard over the last couple of 
months have touched me deeply. Unfortunately, these stories are much 
too common in Missouri.
  We hear that the cause of these record increases are due to problems 
associated with supply, demand, industry deregulation and, possibly, 
price gouging. But this is a complicated issue, and I have yet to meet 
anyone who has an easy solution. The only thing that is clear right now 
is that we need to learn what has caused these sharp increases and 
quickly develop an appropriate response.
  This is why I have decided to cosponsor Senator Boxer's amendment 
that would require the National Academy of Sciences to submit a report 
to Congress within 60 days on the causes of the recent increases in the 
price of natural gas, including whether the increases have been caused 
by problems with natural gas supply or by problems with the natural gas 
transmission system. The study would identify federal or state policies 
that may have contributed to the recent spike in prices and determine 
what federal action would be necessary to improve the reserve supply of 
natural gas.
  We don't know what the results of this study will be, but I am 
hopeful that they will help us to determine a course of action at the 
federal level to relieve the current crisis that is harming so many 
people in so many ways.

                          ____________________