[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 19905-19907]
[From the U.S. 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 over 1,000, are heartbreaking 
and touching. To respect their efforts, I am submitting every e-mail 
sent to me through [email protected]
.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 
that today's letters be printed in the Record.

       You asked for comments on how the fuel costs have affected 
     me. It has been good for my health. The high fuel prices have 
     gotten me back on my bicycle, and I am enjoying it very much. 
     I put baskets on my bike to carry supplies and groceries, and 
     it works very well. When I see people driving three or four 
     blocks to get coffee or ice cream or beer or whatever, and 
     then listen to them complain about how much fuel costs them, 
     I have a hard time with that. I drive a lot less than I used 
     to, and am hoping the rest of the country will follow suite. 
     I turned my thermostat down this past winter, and my bills 
     went down even with rising costs. Putting a sweater on is 
     easy. As people comment when they see my baskets full of 
     groceries, most of them say they should do that. I am 
     wondering why they are not. Instead they go to the gym and 
     burn gas getting there and back to get a workout. Why not 
     walk or ride a bike? Hopefully, folks will start thinking 
     about how far away their job is and try to live within a 
     short commute or bike ride away. There are lots of things 
     people can do to consume less. More public transportation is 
     a must and would be a lot cheaper in more ways than one, than 
     more nuclear power plants. More bike-friendly places and bike 
     paths would get people riding. The communities/cities of 
     Idaho would be a much better place to live that have walk/
     bike friendly road/shoulders. So this is how high fuel prices 
     have affected me in Idaho. We all need to get out of our cars 
     and enjoy the scenery!
           Thanks,
     Lynn, Rathdrum.
                                  ____

       I am an owner/operator truck driver. It is getting real 
     hard to make a living out here on the road. The price of fuel 
     is almost to the point of shutting this country down. I have 
     just a few more payments left on my truck . At this point, I 
     cannot make a full payment on my truck each month. So it is 
     going to take even longer to get the job done. When I get the 
     truck paid off, I am afraid, like many others, I will have to 
     park my truck. I cannot haul freight for nothing. I do not 
     enjoy it that much. I use to stay out 4-6 weeks at a time; 
     now, I have to stay out 2 months or longer and still cannot 
     keep the payments caught up. But I am so exhausted that I 
     have to take a few days off. This only makes me farther 
     behind. Thanks for the help!
     Danny.
                                  ____

       Almost half our state of Idaho is rural, and much is in BLM 
     Land. So, to get to Idaho cities requires driving long 
     stretches of highway or two-lane roads. I have to drive to 
     Garden Valley every weekend from Boise, and sometimes I have 
     to go there two or three times per week. At 60 miles one way 
     and 120 miles roundtrip, we have seen our gasoline bill 
     nearly double. Next to our mortgage payment, gasoline expense 
     has become our second highest cost in our household. I get 
     raises very infrequently, so this has shot our budget. We do 
     not shop as much and we have stopped going out to eat or go 
     to any entertainment. This, in turn, has hurt our economy.
       I listened to the Governor of Montana say he has enough 
     coal and oil along with the major oil finds in the Dakotas to 
     virtually replace the dependence we are placing on foreign 
     energy, but our own red tape has hamstrung our domestic 
     energy companies from developing these resources. Why? It is 
     past time to drill in ANWR. Let us get that rolling now--we 
     have better technology to minimize the environmental impact 
     than any other nation on earth. The time is ripe to even 
     consider re-introducing the 55 MPH speed limit again. I am 
     ready to vote for nationalizing oil, natural gas, and 
     electricity. These three resources have got to be stabilized 
     for our nation to stay in good economic health. By not 
     stabilizing these three resources, we are headed for economic 
     ruin.
       Right now, corn is up so high for the ethanol that farmers 
     are producing that they are not selling corn for food. Cattle 
     are not getting enough feed to eat, so ranchers are planning 
     to mass sell off their herds, which will temporarily glut the 
     marketplace then beef will soar in cost. Our airplane and 
     automotive situation has nosedived, and the vacation industry 
     is failing. Private truckers are parking their rigs and even 
     selling them to Russia, so when gas and diesel prices come 
     down, the trucking industry will not recover. Of course, the 
     housing market is dying with the subprime mortgage mess, and 
     banks do not have the necessary reserves on hand to even lend 
     more money though the Fed has lowered the interest rates to 
     2%.
       Frankly, unless some or all of the oil and natural gas 
     industry is immediately nationalized, I fear we are 
     economically doomed and will lead the whole world into an 
     economic recession/depression. Please kill any legislation 
     regarding carbon capping. There is no way there is enough 
     CO2 in the world to cause global warming. With 
     CO2 only comprising .05% of the atmosphere, even 
     doubling, tripling, its concentration will not cause global 
     warming, but sunspot flare activity surely can and does cause 
     global warming. Over 21,000 scientists now agree this is true 
     versus 2,500 who disagree. We have got to wake up and take 
     action together. Thanks for asking for our opinion.
     Herman.
                                  ____

       If the U.S. government reduced some of the huge amounts of 
     oil held in reserve, the price of oil would immediately fall. 
     I just cannot understand why such action has not been taken 
     and can only conclude that [partisan or illegal actions may 
     be behind the price fixing.]
           Regards,
     Bill.
                                  ____

       As a single father and college student, I pay over $500 per 
     month in child support. I am barely making it and I depend on 
     student loans to even survive. I cannot afford to be paying 
     outrageous prices for gas. I have errands to run everyday. If 
     this continues, I do not know what I can do to keep a roof 
     over my head and feed my children when I have them. Please, 
     we cannot ignore this price gouging.
     Doug.
                                  ____

       Thanks, Senator Crapo, for this opportunity to share my 
     opinions and stories about the high cost of fuels and how it 
     is affecting my immediate family.
       Two weeks ago, my husband finally broke down and called our 
     fuel oil dealer to order 100 gallons of stove oil. It has 
     been a cool spring. We have been wearing extra sweaters and 
     jackets to be warm inside our home! The price for that was 
     $450, and that did not fill up our tank. This is the end of 
     winter; what is stove oil going to cost in the fall, next

[[Page 19906]]

     winter? Not so long ago stove oil was pennies on the dollar. 
     We used to burn wood, but it also takes gas for the chainsaw 
     and truck to haul it home. You also have to buy a permit to 
     gather the wood. It is no longer free! My Social Security 
     check is $515 a month. I live 16 miles to our nearest town, 
     42 miles to Couer d' Alene, our county seat where we conduct 
     a lot of our business. There is no public transportation to 
     anywhere I live.
       People in the East have no concept of the distance to 
     places in the West!!! Back there you can visit several states 
     and we are still on our way to Boise when they have come and 
     gone to their state capitol and perhaps 5 or six bordering 
     states. Boise is 400 miles south on what is referred to as 
     the ``Goat Trail''. It is about an eight-hour trip by car. 
     Folks, it is no freeway. North Idaho's freeway is I-90 & it 
     is 75 miles wide. That is the width of the panhandle there.
       We have driven the most economical car possible since 1985 
     when Chevrolet came out with the Chevy Sprint that 
     consistently gives about 45 miles to the gallon. It is a 3-
     cylinder car that is great for commuting, but it is no luxury 
     car. Our second car is a 1996 Subaru Legacy Outback. It 
     carries a month's worth of groceries and other supplies. It 
     also brings us to the top of the hill we live on when there 
     is lots of snow on the ground.
       Chevrolet first came out with the Sprint, then the Geo and 
     now the Aveno (?I believe it is called). Each model the gas 
     mileage has decreased significantly. In our area, doctors and 
     dentists are driving them for the gas mileage, not for their 
     luxury. You see, it is affecting the professionals too!
       I feel that the car companies and oil companies are in 
     cahoots to keep the gas flowing when they can and have 
     designed fuel efficient vehicles for the modern day public. 
     Take the time to view the DVD, ``Who Killed the Electric 
     Car?'' It tells what happened to the electric car. It is 
     available in the Kootenai/Shoshone public library system.
       General Motors developed an electric car in the late '90's, 
     2000's that was leased to drivers in California. Each driver 
     loved their car. Had fun with it and it was economical to 
     drive with rechargeable batteries. Some models even recharged 
     as they were driven. They did not even need to be parked to 
     be recharged. They were economical, easy to maintain and 
     sensible to drive. What happened to them? They were taken 
     away from the drivers/leasee & destroyed/crushed!!!! And that 
     under much protest!
       Some of these things we've done to ourselves, but other 
     things the American public does not have many choices when it 
     comes to what we drive. I will tell you this all these SUV's 
     on the highway are a disgrace to economy. And legislation was 
     giving a tax break if you went out and purchased one a few 
     years ago. Tell me, what kind of economic sense does that 
     make??? They're just a pack of gas guzzlers!!!
       Thanks again for the opportunity to sound off a bit!
     Tiffany, St. Maries.
                                  ____

       I am 63 years old and last year, right before the prices 
     went out of control, already had purchased an electric bike 
     to use to get to work. Fortunately, I only live a little over 
     a mile away and can use this bike that goes 15 miles an hour. 
     My determination to ride this bike increased as the hot days 
     turned into colder ones and I was able to ride my bike 
     through November so I would not have to fill the pick-up with 
     gas too much. Government wants us to recycle to help the 
     environment and I am all for it, but when we try to do our 
     part, we do not get any help in return. If you do get an 
     electric car which no one can afford but the wealthy.
       I see my single parent daughter trying to commute and make 
     ends meet and it gets increasingly difficult because with gas 
     prices she goes with less food for family, etc.
       I think it is outrageous for our country and politicians to 
     allow these price increases when we have the means to take 
     care of this country. Twenty years ago they spoke of getting 
     alternatives and did not push this issue and had they done so 
     much more could have been done. I am afraid that before long 
     we will see violence in this country mainly because our jobs 
     are gone, price increases in every area of products, but no 
     one ever increases the wages to meet the demands of other 
     increase. What is the matter with people in government and 
     businesses?
       I do not like to see government control but because our 
     business people will not use common sense to see what happens 
     when the jobs go there is not sufficient jobs to go and buy 
     the products. What is wrong with this picture? We need to 
     start taxing products from overseas that come here so 
     businesses will come back to the states and put our people 
     back to work. How sad our government has deserted their own 
     people.
       I am hoping with all my heart that someone will step up to 
     the plate and really try to make a difference. We have to do 
     something as everything is getting out of control and it is 
     sad because of what our forefathers have tried to do before 
     us to make it a great country. I am angry and I do not like 
     politics, but when I see people trying to do well for their 
     families and that means is taken away from them, someone 
     needs to speak up.
     Devera, Nampa.
                                  ____

       I appreciate the help trying to keep energy prices at a 
     manageable level. As a lifelong Idahoan, I have grown 
     accustomed to the Idaho way of life. I travel to the same 
     hunting and fishing grounds that my father and my grandfather 
     have previously shown me, teaching my kids to enjoy what our 
     state has to offer. I am a married father of three kids, 
     hoping for a couple more. I work as an accountant and, for 
     the last two-and-a-half half years, my wife has stayed home 
     to raise our kids. It was a giant leap of faith for us to go 
     from two incomes down to one. We sacrificed a lot of the 
     little luxuries but have been blessed by being able to teach 
     our kids. As a result, my eldest daughter, who is in second 
     grade, has excelled in school. She and her siblings love to 
     learn. As the general costs of living have increased, I made 
     the decision to pick up a paper route to help build our 
     savings. I spent many years in college before finally 
     graduating from BSU in 2005. Our savings was depleted. Just 
     as we thought we were going to get ahead, the gas prices 
     started going up. The speed at which they increased has not 
     allowed wages to follow. I still throw papers, but the amount 
     of money I can earn is much lower. My route requires me 
     driving over 40 miles each day. This is on top of my 17-mile 
     each way commute to work. There is little to no public 
     transportation here, and my commute is a bit longer than a 
     bike ride. Cost of living has risen dramatically requiring me 
     to use the money earned from newspaper delivery to help 
     supplement our budget to pay bills. Travel plans this spring 
     and summer have been canceled due to the price of fuel. The 
     number of trips I will be able to take to get in some fly 
     fishing will be cut as well. What I would like to see is a 
     short term help but long term solution. While an increase in 
     domestic supply will begin to stabilize prices, it will not 
     be a long term solution due to the volatile OPEC. We need 
     alternative energy solutions and an increase in public 
     transportation. I hope that our countries leaders can keep an 
     open eye to all sources of power. INL has long been a great 
     source for nuclear power but it seems that too many people 
     are scared to work with. The Integral Fast Reactor was shut 
     down during the Clinton era and years of technology was lost. 
     We must find a better solution.
     Joe, Boise.
                                  ____

       I work in Hailey, which is a commute of 150 miles each work 
     day. It now costs me in excess of one hour of my wages to 
     make the drive. My gasoline costs are around $800 per month. 
     We heat our house with oil and it now costs us right at 
     $1,000 to fill our 250-gallon barrel. We cannot afford to 
     take a vacation because of the fuel, motel, and food prices. 
     My wife and I find this quite disheartening.
       I would really like to see the United States become energy 
     self-sufficient. I know the technology is available to help 
     us get their let us offer entrepreneurs incentives to 
     accomplish this. If Congress would make all cars sold in the 
     U.S. flex fuel cars, this would drive the alternative fuel 
     market into production. If Congress would require that all 
     new cars meet the fuel economy requirements that are 
     scheduled for 2020 become a requirement by 2010, this would 
     also help. If Congress would take control over fuel and 
     energy futures trading, this would also help. Thank Congress 
     for taking away the incentives to the fuel producers.
       We put a man on the moon in less that a decade, so I truly 
     believe we can become self sufficient if we put our minds and 
     hearts toward this goal.
           Sincerely,
     Walt, Kimberly.
                                  ____

       I live ten miles from town. I moved to this location for 
     solitude several years ago. Because of the greed of the 
     petroleum industry, I am to the point that I cannot take my 
     handicapped wife for a weekend drive. My propane heating bill 
     has doubled since last year. If this greed continues, I will 
     have to make a choice of what I can buy with the income that 
     I have. Do I buy fuel so I can take my wife to her doctors, 
     some of which are located in Lewiston, 55 miles from our 
     house, or drive the ten miles to town to get her much-needed 
     medicine, get groceries, which we cannot buy like we used to, 
     or pay the ever-increasing heating bill from this past 
     winter?
       There are reason why the cost of fuel are on a continuing 
     on this outragest rise. Refineries are not at capacity; there 
     are no new refineries; the environmentalists, with the help 
     of their liberal judges, stop any new drilling for oil; pure 
     greed by the petroleum industry. Whenever there is a new 
     development to increase fuel mileage, the petroleum industry 
     buys up the patents and kills them.
     Wendell, Orofino.
                                  ____

       I cannot understand why Congress cannot see the need to 
     allow the United States to access more of our own energy 
     sources. Yes, we need new alternative fuels, but we also need 
     to become more realistic about our solutions to the energy 
     crisis. We need to combine research AND start making use of 
     our own current oil supplies. We need to start drilling in 
     the locations where oil has already been discovered. Why has 
     Congress ridiculed President Bush when he asked the

[[Page 19907]]

     Saudis to produce more oil when Congress refused to do the 
     same right in our own country? He did ask Congress first. I 
     would also like to see the Congressmen invite the scientists 
     who do not agree with man-made global warming to testify and 
     bring their facts forward. Forming an energy policy on an 
     unproven crisis does not make much sense.
     Gloria.
                                  ____

       I drive 80 miles a day round trip to work in the Sun Valley 
     area from Fairfield. ``Real'' people cannot afford to live 
     within 30 miles of the Hailey/Sun Valley area due to 
     exorbitant house prices, so the local economy is dependent on 
     those who will drive from outlying areas. The high gas prices 
     are crippling my family's ability to stay in South Central 
     Idaho.
     Randy.

                          ____________________