[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 14081-14084]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                IDAHOANS SPEAK OUT ON HIGH ENERGY PRICES

  Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, earlier this week, I asked Idahoans to 
share with me how high energy prices are affecting their lives, and 
they responded by the hundreds. The stories, numbering over 1,000, are 
heartbreaking and touching. To respect their efforts, I am submitting 
every e-mail sent to me through energy_prices@crapo .senate.gov 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:

       Hello Senator Crapo: The impact of the high gas and energy 
     prices is affecting my wife and I quite a bit. My wife is 
     disabled with severe arthritis, Crohn's Disease, and vision 
     problems from glaucoma, and I am the only income provider for 
     our household. I earn just enough to cancel out my wife's 
     SSI, so we have to cover all her medical expenses that the 
     insurance I receive from work does not cover; that is $250.00 
     to $300.00 plus. I am an employee of Kootenai County, so due 
     to budget restraints and laws, I do not see much in the line 
     of raises to offset cost of living expenses. My job requires 
     that I have transportation available, and that cuts 
     carpooling and riding a bus.
       I drive 30 miles round trip for work, with a 1988 Mazda 
     pickup that has 190,000 miles on it. If there is a good tail 
     wind, I may get 18 mpg. Due to medical expenses and price 
     increases for food, heating, etc., I cannot afford to 
     purchase a newer vehicle that gets better gas mileage. With 
     costs for gas, energy and products affected by the increases, 
     it takes away from an already tight budget, and we have no 
     choice but to cut back where we can. Some people say get 
     another job, but a lot of my off time is used to assist my 
     wife around the house, and take her for errands and medical 
     appointments. At this point, I am concerned about what I will 
     do when the pickup gets to the point of needing high-dollar 
     repair work. We also live in a mobile home that uses electric 
     heat. Sometimes my wife gets depressed that she cannot 
     contribute financially to our household, which does not help 
     her condition.
       The two things that would help our situation would be that 
     my income does not count against my wife's SSI, which would 
     be a tremendous help to the budget for medical bills and 
     possibly a better vehicle, and, of course, the lower prices 
     for fuel and energy.
       Thanks for your assistance; it is greatly appreciated.
     Bob, Post Falls.
                                  ____

       Due to increased gas prices (and some unexpected medical 
     bills), we are now a one car family. I primarily bike to work 
     (it is only two miles away) and I have taught my son to ride 
     the bus. He attends TVMSC at Riverglen, and we live on the 
     East side of

[[Page 14082]]

     town (one-half hour away), so that has helped as well. My 
     husband works out in Meridian, and he occasionally uses 
     public transportation, but has found that the inter-county 
     routes are underfunded and unreliable. Twice the bus has not 
     shown up at all (due to repairs), and it can only handle two 
     bikes, so if the bus bike rack is full, you are out of luck. 
     I believe reducing our reliance on foreign oil is important; 
     it will require advancement in green energy as well as 
     personal changes. However, before the public will use 
     alternative transportation, it has to be reliable and that 
     requires money. Boise does a great job maintaining the green 
     belt and I have noticed on the BSU campus, the bike racks are 
     always full. This was not the case a year ago. This is a 
     positive change. Now if we could work on public 
     transportation and advancing technology to create more fuel 
     efficient cars that are affordable. I also believe tax 
     credits (many of which already exist) to encourage people to 
     weatherproof (insulate/buy better windows) their homes or 
     that encourage them to purchase energy efficient appliances 
     would help.
       Overall, I hope we reduce the amount of oil we use, not 
     just increase oil production. I think this will help in the 
     long run.
           Thank you,
     Tiffany, Boise.
                                  ____

       Thank you for trying to stop the insanity. The high gas 
     prices have made it difficult for me to take the 20 some mile 
     drive to Parma from Caldwell to visit my 95-year-old 
     grandmother. Normally I go once a week. I've had to miss a 
     week now and then because I didn't have enough money for gas. 
     I've cut corners elsewhere to do my best to get those visits 
     in since I know we are living on borrowed time. She's had 
     several strokes lately, and we do not know how long she'll be 
     with us.
       It cost $97.00 to fill my vehicle a few days ago. With my 
     6-year-old in baseball and my teenager in baseball, that 
     takes a lot of gas to travel to games. I missed my teenager's 
     games at tournament because I could not afford to drive to 
     North Idaho and stay in a hotel. His first tournament ever--
     that was really hard.
       I am convinced that the gas prices are affecting our 
     grocery prices, too. My husband works in construction. The 
     economy has slowed so much that his company is having a hard 
     time finding work. This is a very established, well-known 
     company. Because our income has gone down and gas and food 
     have gone up, I'm trying to feed a family of 5 on less than 
     $100.00 a month. The only way I've managed to do this is 
     because we are all hunters and have lots of meat and fish in 
     the freezer from last year.
       I'm tired of hearing how much the oil companies make!!! It 
     is wrong to make such a huge profit off of something we 
     really have to have in order to work and function!! If you 
     live in a city, you can get by using the bus system or 
     subway. I live 5 miles from the grocery store, and there is 
     no bus system to ride. I cannot walk or ride my bike to get 
     groceries. My husband works 100 miles from home. He comes 
     home on weekends. The type of work he does wouldn't benefit 
     from public transportation either. Something has to be done 
     about these prices.
           Sincerely,
     Kristi.
                                  ____

       Dear Senator Crapo: Thank you for giving me an opportunity 
     to share my story of how this price of gas is touching my 
     life. First, I want to share my story as a consumer and also 
     as a health care administrator. I run a good-sized nursing 
     home in a small rural Idaho community. I was recruited to run 
     this facility from a good distance away. I travel 130 miles a 
     day round trip on my daily commute. I love my job and the 
     employees I manage love me but as you can imagine 130 miles a 
     day is a lot of gas even with a very fuel efficient vehicle, 
     which I have. Between my wife (who is a stay-at-home mother 
     of five children) and I, we are now spending close to $500.00 
     a month on gas alone. I have a good salary but even with 
     that, we are looking at ways to save on all we spend money 
     on. The problem is the higher gas prices make everything else 
     increase in price. There is no way around this as it is 
     causing us to change our life style. It feels unfair that I 
     worked so hard to be able to have my wife stay home, but now 
     if the price does not go down soon, she may be forced to work 
     just so we can survive. People would consider me well in the 
     middle class, but we are not living that life style today. 
     Everything is going up in price, but my salary is not and I 
     am a lucky one. I am grateful for what I have, and I am a 
     proud American and Idahoan. I am not complaining, but I 
     really believe more can be done because many more than me are 
     suffering much worse.
       As an Administrator of a Healthcare Facility in a small 
     town, the energy crisis is huge. Our costs are have doubled 
     in many cases, but our reimbursement has not. All of my 
     employees need a raise to combat the increase in cost of 
     living, but this is just not feasible. Many of the employees 
     are very low income, and I really do not see how they make 
     it. I have many who have told me they have just stopped 
     driving because they just cannot afford it. My heart goes out 
     to them, and I do whatever I can to help but the neat thing 
     is they do not blame me. They know I care, and I pay them the 
     best I can. These are great people who care for people who 
     cannot care for themselves. They have one of the most 
     thankless jobs in the world, but they are true heroes in my 
     eyes. These are the people I want you to fight for and beat 
     this crisis. They are a true example of why this country is 
     great. Thank you for fighting for Idaho and all America.
           Sincerely,
     Gerald, Weiser.
                                  ____

       I am an employee of Idaho State University and I live in 
     Blackfoot, 20 miles north of Pocatello. I am averaging 
     $400.00 a month in just gasoline expenses and I do not drive 
     on the weekends unless absolutely necessary. I started this 
     position as a 1 year temporary to hold the job open for an 
     employee who had been offered a 1 year contract as an 
     instructor. I was allowed to work 10 hour days and have a 3 
     day weekend to help with gasoline consumption but within 2 
     months of being awarded the position full time I was told I 
     had to work 5 days a week at the office even though the 
     Health Occupations chair offered me an opportunity to fill 
     some Fridays at the Outreach in Blackfoot proctoring tests 
     for students in my programs. To add insult to injury our 
     political representatives that decide pay raises for state 
     employees gave us a 1% raise which for most classified 
     employees amounts to between ten and fifteen cents an hour 
     and my medical benefits, which only cover my husband and 
     myself, went up around 34.35%. Because of this I am forced to 
     seek employment closer to home at a significantly lower wage 
     just to continue to go into debt. Being unable to keep up 
     with the higher energy costs not associated with travel such 
     as for cooking, heating and cooling a house as well as the 
     maintenance for the residence. I know I am speaking for many 
     low to middle income families when I implore the political 
     representatives of the citizens of this state to help find a 
     solution. This is such a rural state that public 
     transportation is not justifiable and impractical. Please 
     help.
     Myrna.
                                  ____

       Senator Crapo: While I can fully appreciate your efforts in 
     trying to keep energy prices down, it is a bit late as the 
     damage has already been done. I have run a small business in 
     Idaho for 25 years. Currently I have 8 employees and I live 
     in constant fear that I will be put out of business. Why? 
     Because EVERY YEAR, we have yet another out-of-control 
     economic crisis in this country.
       Now we have 4+ dollar per gallon gasoline. As you know, 
     Idaho has one of the lowest per capita incomes in the U.S. 
     (ranked 41st), yet the cost of living has skyrocketed in the 
     metropolitan areas over the last 10 years. Because of this, 
     and also from increased pressure from the Internet and chain 
     stores, I have had to downsize my operation from a high of 35 
     employees to what I have now. With the additional increased 
     pressures now in place due to gasoline prices, I expect our 
     sales to decline even further. To be perfectly honest, I 
     cannot survive yet another business downturn and will simply 
     have to go under, putting myself and 7 other people out on 
     the streets. I talk to many other small business owners who 
     are feeling the pinch as well.
       If you examine what has happened in this country, we keep 
     talking about 3 major issues but no significant proactive 
     steps have been taken:
       First, reducing our dependence on foreign oil by increasing 
     domestic production. This has been debated for 30 years but 
     essentially nothing has been done about it. It would have 
     been a relatively simple matter to open up domestic 
     exploration but Congress will have nothing of it because of 
     lobbyists and environmentalists.
       Second, alternative energy. Again this has been talked 
     about for 3 decades but relatively little has been done. The 
     U.S., which should be at the forefront in this area, has 
     lagged far behind much smaller countries such as Spain, 
     France, and the Netherlands.
       Third, more fuel efficient transportation. The technology 
     exists TODAY to almost DOUBLE gas mileage in vehicles, but 
     our government can't even get the car manufacturers to comply 
     with federal fuel consumption guidelines which are a 
     pittance. There has not been a significant breakthrough in 
     vehicle gas mileage from the major U.S. carmakers for over 10 
     years. This is not only inexcusable, it is a major factor in 
     the reason that GM and Ford have fallen on hard times the 
     last several years.
       In addition to all of this, we have been embroiled in 
     overseas conflicts in both Iraq and Kuwait, two of the most 
     oil-rich countries on earth, but we have not held them 
     accountable in any way for our help. The costs of our aiding 
     just those two countries, by the time we eventually get out 
     of Iraq, will easily exceed one trillion U.S. taxpayer 
     dollars, not to mention ongoing costs associated with taking 
     care of returning veterans. For this obscene amount of money 
     we will receive nothing in return because we have failed to 
     negotiate oil treaties at the outset. We could have better 
     spent this money on energy research and production here at 
     home.
       There is a time for talking and a time for action. We need 
     action NOW to help solve these issues.
           Regards,
                                                       Bob, Boise.

[[Page 14083]]

     
                                  ____
       I am a single mother of three children. Two are disabled. I 
     live in Wilder Idaho and commute to Nampa. The round trip is 
     about 50 miles. I also have to take my children, especially 
     the two disabled ones, to doctor's appointments quite often.
       We are now nearly destitute due in part to the cost of 
     commuting. I have been living on credit cards part of the 
     time. I do not know what I'll do about the cost of gas except 
     look into a hydrogen unit for my vehicle. That seems to be 
     the only solution on the horizon as I cannot afford to get 
     another vehicle. Any other ideas?
     Unsigned.
                                  ____

       Mike: As American citizens we are sick and tired of 
     Congress doing nothing to remove our dependency on foreign 
     oil. We are no longer able to travel, except in emergencies 
     to visit family. Almost everything we consume has gone up in 
     price, from shipping goods and services to products made from 
     oil. We either need to get current members of Congress out of 
     office or demand you hold a special session to do the 
     following:
       1. Remove legislation that limits drilling offshore and in 
     Alaska to help increase supply (Drill Now, Drill Everywhere, 
     Save America).
       2. Remove all the red tape with opening and producing more 
     nuclear energy power plants.
       3. Continue research on alternative fuels that do not 
     deplete our food supply.
       4. Take advantage of wind, solar, and hydro power and 
     provide reasonable tax incentives for use of these energy 
     sources.
       Please pass this on to all our elected representatives and 
     continue to push Congress to do what we elected them for, 
     putting in place sound legislation that will move this 
     country forward, not backward. We have waited too long, now 
     we must react rather than act. I am counting on you Mike to 
     make this happen, leave a legacy Idaho can be proud of.
     M., Rexburg.
                                  ____

       Dear Senator Crapo: This is not what you asked for, but I 
     felt obliged to note that the energy price problem will solve 
     itself through economics. As oil gets more expensive, 
     alternative energies become relatively cheap. Thus, economics 
     will drive up the development of those energies. 
     Unfortunately, one of those alternate energies is food. What 
     this means is that as oil gets more expensive, food will get 
     more expensive, because more food will go toward powering 
     cars (e.g. ethanol). To prevent this from happening, I 
     believe that the federal government must assist in the 
     development of nuclear power.
       There is only one source of energy in the universe, and 
     that is nuclear power. All other forms of energy derive from 
     nuclear power. Wind, solar, biomass, oil all of these 
     previously came or are now coming from a very large nuclear 
     power plant in the sky called the sun. Fortunately, most of 
     the detrimental radiation we receive from that nuclear power 
     plant can be safely avoided with sunscreen. Jokes aside, this 
     is an important fact to publicly recognize. Nuclear power is, 
     in fact, our only source of power. We can either try to 
     capture the nuclear power coming from the sun, or we can make 
     it ourselves here on earth. While both are viable avenues, 
     the former will lead to higher food prices because fields of 
     wheat and corn are essentially huge solar power panels that 
     can be used to propel rich people's jets instead of feeding 
     poor people, and economics will make that happen. I've been 
     told that it takes enough corn to feed a person for a year to 
     fill an SUV gas tank once. Think carefully about what that 
     means. To be feasible and safe, nuclear power will require 
     federal government intervention, but it can be done and will 
     result in a cheap, very long term source of power for the 
     United States.
       Nuclear power is the cleanest, cheapest long term solution 
     answer to America's power problems.
                                  ____

       Mike: As financially devastating as gas prices have been to 
     our family budget over the past several years, I can not 
     understand how anyone can determine it is a problem that 
     stands by itself. There are several devastating intimately 
     related issues that if our elected officials insist on 
     continuing their tunnel vision over them, we will never have 
     a meaningful solution. When will it be recognized that 
     burning fossil fuels no matter what their source is or how 
     much it costs to get them to the pump, the Earth is also 
     degrading from their use every day with every gallon we 
     consume. So the real question is, why are we still 
     subsidizing oil production when we need to be gearing up our 
     industrial infrastructure and workers to expand our fuel 
     resources to solar, wind, industrial hemp oil and all the 
     related necessities which would be so constructive, effective 
     and economically advantageous, not to mention how remedial to 
     our environment these most rational efforts would be.
       What the hell are you waiting for? Why are you so focused 
     on what gas costs? Do you have any idea what it is going to 
     cost to live anything like a human being after all the oil in 
     the word is burned and we need to live in biospheres in order 
     to breathe--and if we go at this your way, we will still need 
     to develop alternative resources when all the oil is gone--if 
     we can still live on the Earth. Wake up! These problems are 
     not just your problem to solve; this problem belongs to us 
     all and would not be too big for all of us to solve 
     collectively--stop trying to commandeer the solutions--start 
     helping us to solve them meaningfully, constructively and 
     effectively. All you have to do is facilitate the people 
     getting together to organize their solutions into rational 
     plans. Selling your power to solve these problems to the 
     highest bidding lobbyist is NOT the right thing for you to 
     do. There is help available when you come around to doing the 
     right thing. I will be able to help a lot.
       Sincerely,
     DM.
                                  ____

       Thanks for a chance to respond. We do not go to the gym 
     every day because it is across town. Our air conditioner is 
     set at 78 degrees, and even though we're hot and 
     uncomfortable, we do not want the bill that turning it down 
     will bring. We have doubled up our reunion with vacation, so 
     we only have to ``head out'' as a family once this summer.
     F.
                                  ____

       Dear Senator Crapo: I am a retired USDA Forest Service 
     employee, my career covered 40 years with assignments in 
     Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, California, New Mexico, and Nevada. I 
     read your newsletter and request for comments regarding the 
     serious effects of run-away energy prices. I do not want to 
     focus on the effects, but would rather emphasize my support 
     for using energy supplies and other natural resources within 
     our own national borders to help reduce the cost and our 
     dependency on Arab oil and other foreign natural resources.
       My career with the Forest Service included the Arab Embargo 
     on petroleum products in the late seventies. At the time I 
     was working in Wyoming, on the Bridger-Teton National Forest. 
     This Forest includes part of a geologic formation called an 
     ``over-thrust belt''. These are areas where layers of 
     sedimentary deposits that include organic matter have been 
     covered over by other geologic layers, often as the result of 
     shifting of the earth's surface. In this process, organic 
     matter gets trapped underneath the layering. Eventually, it 
     gets changed into hydrocarbons--oil and gas.
       During the Reagan era the Bridger-Teton National Forest, 
     and other Forests that included over-thrust geology issued 
     hundreds of leases to industry to explore for oil and gas. 
     Many exploratory wells were drilled on the Bridger-Teton 
     Forest, some in very sensitive habitat (one within the view-
     shed of Jackson, Wyoming). At the time, no fields were 
     developed for commercial use on the Bridger-Teton Forest, but 
     I am aware some deposits were found. With today's prices, it 
     is highly likely some of it would be economic to develop. 
     But, given the current environmental concerns no politician 
     is willing to risk their careers to even suggest 
     environmental constraints be lifted to further explore the 
     potential there or anywhere else within our borders, e.g., 
     ANWR or off shore.
       A key point I want to make regarding my experience is 
     industry did a very good job of being sensitive to the 
     environment in the exploration I was involved with. In fact, 
     many of the old exploratory well sites are included in areas 
     environmentalists are currently proposing for Wilderness 
     designation by Congress. Of course, they wish to close off 
     any options to further explore and perhaps develop our own 
     resources for their own ideological reasons. But, because of 
     my experience I know it can be done without destroying any 
     significant sensitive ecosystem values, especially with the 
     new technology available with is much better than we had 
     available in the seventies.
       I appeal to you to approach Senator McCain and encourage 
     him to truly be a ``change'' candidate for President by 
     making a part of his platform energy independence for our 
     nation. And, have part of that program opening up and use of 
     the energy and other natural resources our own nation has to 
     help accomplish that goal and less overall dependency on 
     foreign imports. DRILL HERE, DRILL NOW, PAY LESS!!
           Sincerely,
     Carl, Nampa.
                                  ____

       Baloney!! You are an oil company sellout like the rest the 
     GOP. American needs to diversify its energy sources, not 
     drill for more petroleum. Even the best estimates of U.S. 
     reserves do not come close to meeting U.S. energy demands. 
     This issue is central to our economy, national security, and 
     the environment and it is the reason why I have abandoned the 
     Republican Party . . . or rather why you have abandoned me. 
     Change, or America and the rest of the world will leave you 
     behind!!
     Kirk.
                                  ____

       I do not think our story is unique, but we are both in our 
     70's and on Social Security. However my husband, who will 
     soon be 73, still must work to get us through every month. We 
     no longer travel any where. Our children and grandchildren 
     are all out of state, and they also find it hard to make ends 
     meet, so they do not travel either. We no longer have the 
     chance to enjoy the much sought after ``retirement'' that we 
     have all come to expect. Some still can, but very

[[Page 14084]]

     many can just keep their head above water. We have cut back 
     on thinking about the usual plans for enjoyment we were 
     looking forward to and are gratefull that we can at least, at 
     the moment, afford our food, utility's, a few bills, and 
     still squeeze out enough gas money for my husband to go 60 or 
     so miles roundtrip to work each day. We know it will get 
     worse, and we're not alone.
     Patty.
                                  ____

       Dear Senator Crapo: I can't imagine anyone, anywhere in the 
     USA who is not mightily upset over the exorbitant increase in 
     fuel prices. I know my wife and I, our family of 4 couples 
     and their children totaling 15, have already started making 
     plans to reduce our vacation travel this summer to within a 
     100-mile radius of our homes in Twin Falls. We will take day 
     trips to the South Hills and take a 4-5 day Labor Day trip. 
     As a family, we have been planning a trip to Disneyland in 
     the fall so that our older grandchildren could enjoy a few 
     days in the park. We were planning on using our refund money, 
     coming from Washington DC, to fund the trip which would have 
     included fuel for the trip, lodging, meals and entrance into 
     the park. I speak for my wife, our adult children and myself 
     when I say that the current energy situation is inexcusable.
       Being a good Reagan Republican, I wholeheartedly endorse 
     the drilling for more oil in Alaska, allowing additional 
     drilling for oil off both coasts and exploring for additional 
     shale oil in Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado. I 
     know that many existing oil pumps have been capped; they need 
     to be uncapped. This will upset the environmentalist crowd 
     tremendously, but I feel it is about time that they are put 
     in their place. The Sierra Club and others like them are 
     prime examples.
       Thank You for all you're doing to assist us here in Idaho.
           Regards,
     Grant, Twin Falls.
                                  ____

       Dear Senator: Thanks for your common sense approach to 
     energy issues now facing our country, and Idaho in 
     particular. It completely escapes me as to why Congress 
     continues to bow to the shouts of a few (environmentalists) 
     while ignoring the overwhelming desires of the majority. 
     Latest polls indicate over 60% of Americans want us to use 
     our natural resources to help solve our short term energy 
     requirements.
       We have a small company with a fleet of 4 service vehicles. 
     The vehicles are all small, compact hatchback type autos that 
     are quite fuel efficient. We average about 2000 miles per 
     week for all 4 vehicles. When gas was $2.00 per gallon, we 
     could expect to spend about 650.00 per month on fuel. Now we 
     are approaching $1500.00 per month for the same mileage with 
     no end in sight. Like most companies our size, we choose to 
     absorb some of those costs for the sort term, but as it 
     becomes clear that the prices we see today are the prices we 
     will see in the foreseeable future, we will have to pass on 
     the additional (and unexpected) costs to our clients. Our 
     clients are made up mostly of small retail and service 
     businesses who will, in turn, pass on their increased 
     expenses to their customers and clients, the everyday citizen 
     and the base of your constituency.
       Our story is a small one but one I believe is 
     representative of the vast collection of small businesses 
     across the country. This energy issue will cut deep into 
     everyone's pocket, and not just at the pump!
       It is time to pass legislation that will encourage 
     responsible use of our natural resources in our own country. 
     It is absurd that the Red Chinese can legally exploit natural 
     resources within 50 miles of our shores when U.S. companies 
     are prohibited by federal law to do the same thing. What 
     happened to practicality and commonsense in our U.S. Congress 
     and Senate? Can we actually sacrifice what amounts to a 
     breach in our national security over environmental issues 
     that may have been valid in the 1960s but are absolutely 
     outdated (by superior technology) today.
       I believe (as do the majority of Americans) that we can use 
     the natural resources God has provided our great nation in a 
     responsible and conscientious way that will leave a clean 
     environment and a strong economy.
           Sincerely,
     Tom, Boise.

                          ____________________