[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 320-322]
[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 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:

       Thank you for asking about our story and giving us an 
     opportunity to help. Me and my wife are students at BYU-Idaho 
     and have one child on the way. The situation that we are in 
     requires us to drive to school and work. We use about 2 tanks 
     of gas a month and that is just business travel and does not 
     include any enjoyment travel such as going to see family 
     which has been very limited lately. My job consists of 
     working at a Thai restaurant as a waiter for only 10 hours a 
     week because with my heavy school load; that is all I can do. 
     My wife does not work and is 37 weeks pregnant and attending 
     school. Luckily we have received government financial aid for 
     school, which consists of Pell grants. This money helps but 
     we find that instead of using that money the government gave 
     us for education, we are using it to pay for gas. We are 
     grateful for the aid the government is giving us but sorry 
     that it is not used for what they meant it for but instead 
     find ourselves using it to pay the oil companies. To try to 
     limit the use of such fund we tend to stay home more and 
     visit family less but even with that sacrifice we still see 
     the money slowly seeping out due to gas prices.
       Thank you for your efforts,
     Blake.
                                  ____

       Our government's inaction in this energy crisis is in my 
     view the greatest act of treason by a group of Americans in 
     recent memory. Inaction and pointing fingers at each other is 
     unacceptable behavior by a government who is ``supposed'' to 
     be looking after the best interests of the American people. 
     We have every ability to provide for our energy needs with 
     our own resources while we work to conserve and provide the 
     energy responsibly in our environment. The fact that our 
     government is allowing the American people to be held hostage 
     by the world on this issue is tragic and has enhanced my view 
     that the corruption is not with our industries but with those 
     that we are electing.
     Jay.
                                  ____

       Trucks move the nation and the price of diesel is hurting 
     everyone.
     Marge.
                                  ____

       I see my married children struggle to buy gas for their 
     cars--money that should go to food, medical, and housing 
     costs.
       Two years ago, in my construction business, it would not 
     have mattered whether a job was 3 miles away or 30 miles 
     away, but now I cannot bid a job without adding extra for 
     fuel for added distance. All of our construction materials 
     are going up also. How long will the economy stand this?
       It is frustrating to see the congress do nothing to help 
     relieve the pressure of this on the nation. Raising taxes 
     will not help. Just doing something about the 
     environmentalists will help. Stop the government controls and 
     get drilling for oil and build some refineries.
       Thank you for what you do, Senator Crapo. I know that you 
     are for drilling because I watch your voting record. I also 
     listen to you on ``Probing America''. The United States needs 
     more people like you.
     Allan, Shelley.
                                  ____

       Living in Southeast Idaho with its wide open spaces can be 
     both a blessing and a curse. As an educator and a proud 
     parent, I am deeply concerned about the rising energy costs. 
     I work fifteen miles from where I live. That translates to 
     thirty miles round-trip. I choose to work in a rural school 
     district and am proud to do so as I believe every district 
     deserves quality teachers. As you are well aware, educators 
     are already some of the poorest paid in this great state. I 
     fear that I may not be able to afford to keep my job, but I 
     can also not afford to lose it. One thing I am sure of and 
     that is that Washington does not know about the special needs 
     of our state as far as transportation is concerned. I am glad 
     that you can present our situation to them.
     Stephanie.
                                  ____

       Our business is ATV Alternatives, LLC in Caldwell. Our 
     product is a fantastic utility vehicle imported to the USA 
     from abroad that gets nearly 40 MPG and is increasingly 
     popular to businesses (especially dairies, farms, ranches, 
     recreational users) who see value in using a smaller vehicle 
     that can carry a variety of things along with a second 
     passenger in an enclosed cab. It gets 2-4 times better 
     mileage than other products being used (pickups being 
     underutilized 10 MPG, ATVs getting 15-20 MPG, UTVs getting 
     20-25 MPG, or tractors getting 4-12 gallons per hour.
       Increasing prices for fuel is increasing demand but 
     commuting to the office, delivering vehicles, and overall 
     shipping costs (especially over the ocean, on rails and by 
     truckers) have dramatically gone up as well. Further, 
     increasing international competition for the same used 
     ``Kei'' class Mini Trucks along with the drastic decline of 
     the U.S. Dollar versus the Japanese Yen have also 
     dramatically increased product costs (upwards of 75-100% 
     increase versus 2006). The margin is now too thin to really 
     let this business generate the income we need it to . . . it 
     looks like a great little business needs a buyer; know 
     anybody interested in a great opportunity that can easily and 
     synergistically combine with another Farm Equipment, Vehicle, 
     or Recreational Vehicle dealership? We are going broke 
     commuting for this single product company . . .
       Oh, Customs wants to tariff these as if they are road legal 
     an extra 25%, but DOT and DEQ does not want them here at all 
     (ATV manufacturers pay lobbyist and lawyers well).
       We are open to offers, ideas, and customer orders (for 
     now).
     Roy and Arlene, Caldwell.
                                  ____

       I have a beautiful wife and four handsome boys. Gas prices 
     are really hurting our family. Last November (2007), we were 
     lucky to have twin boys born to us three months and a week 
     early. The doctors gave them a 50% chance of living. They 
     were in the hospital for three months and a little bit. We 
     have insurance but with doctors asking for money and 
     continuous doctors' appointments, my little paycheck is 
     having a very rough time trying to afford rising gas prices, 
     doctor bills, house mortgage, car payment, and student loans. 
     I bring home about $1,250 a paycheck. I have one house with a 
     mortgage of $1,260 a month, one car with payments at $244 a 
     month; we do not have internet, cable, magazine 
     subscriptions, cell phones, or any of the other extras that 
     this wonderful life can afford. If you really start adding 
     the number together, I do not really make that much. And the 
     gas prices are really hurting me and my family, not to 
     mention all the other young families around me. Some people 
     in life are just starting out, they do not have the high 
     paying job, let us think twice before we raise the price of 
     gas. We do not want to be the cause kids not being able to go 
     to the doctor's office because we cannot afford to drive 
     there.
     Ancle, Idaho Falls.
                                  ____

       Recent gasoline price increases have induced my wife and I 
     to spend more time on

[[Page 321]]

     our bicycles. I am feeling better, she's lookin' good, and we 
     have each lost 10 pounds. High pump prices have motivated a 
     healthy self examination of our lifestyle.
       Metaphorically speaking, the nation could benefit from the 
     loss of a few pounds. The current gas crunch will be good for 
     the nation insofar as it motivates instrospection and 
     reasoned change in our national energy habits.
       I fear, however, that the nation will choose political 
     expedience instead of the changes that will assure our 
     country's long term health. Rather than wean ourselves from 
     petroleum, we will be tempted to increase domestic oil 
     production. Such an increase, however, would be gobbled up by 
     the global market, and do little to ameliorate conditions at 
     home. To be sure, domestic petroleum development might be a 
     part of a comprehensive energy policy, but relying on 
     domestic production as the centerpiece of the nation's energy 
     plan would be foolish.
       High gasoline prices are due as much to a weak dollar as to 
     increased global competition for the world's petroleum. Our 
     nation's industrial and technological base is rapidly 
     eroding, both in real terms and relative to the rest of the 
     world. As a consequence, we have less to offer in exchange 
     for the petroleum and other products we import.
       The nation's 20th century rise to power coincided closely 
     with its ability to dominate the world's energy market. We 
     exported the lion's share of the world's petroleum and, 
     importantly, we manufactured the automobiles and machines 
     that used it. For the United States, both literally and 
     figuratively, energy has been the source of power.
       Today's high petroleum prices signal a window of 
     opportunity for the United States. As the world's largest 
     energy consumer, we are in a unique position to define the 
     alternative energy technology that the entire world will use 
     for decades. We can, as a nation, choose to regain our 
     preeminence as the world's largest energy supplier by 
     developing and manufacturing the energy production, 
     distribution, and storage systems that the world will use. 
     This will decrease our dependence on foreign petroleum, 
     revitalize our industrial base, and rid us of the trade 
     deficit that is sapping our buying power.
     Michael, Boise.
                                  ____

       One good step toward actually doing something about 
     gasoline prices would be to realize that the oil ``prices'' 
     quoted daily in the media do not represent the oil companies' 
     costs for their raw material. They are taken from the 
     commodities futures trading markets, and have no bearing upon 
     what it costs an oil company to pump oil out of the ground. 
     The oil companies do and will use the futures markets as 
     cover for increasing their prices, but the fact is that when 
     the price in the commodities market goes up that does not 
     mean the gasoline producers' costs go up too. It is obvious 
     to any thinking person that, in fact, the oil companies do 
     not get their crude oil through the futures markets.
       If Congress wants to do something worthwhile, it could 
     require that oil futures trading be confined to buyers who 
     will take actual physical delivery of the oil ``purchased.'' 
     As it is, quoted oil futures prices are merely analogs for 
     the general value of the dollar, not for the true cost of oil 
     or the decent price of retail gasoline.
     James.
                                  ____

       Senior citizens can either buy gas or groceries but not 
     both so the groceries win out of course and we stay at home. 
     Do something!
     Annetta.
                                  ____

       I wish to respond to your email concerning current energy 
     prices. The current energy prices have had a profound effect 
     upon my retirement. In May, we turned off our propane powered 
     furnace for the summer and fall. The price of propane has 
     increased from $1.09 per gallon four years ago to $2.59 per 
     gallon a month ago. Also, we turned off the pilot light to 
     our gas fireplace.
       Our family is spread from Oregon to Georgia. The current 
     price of gas has resulted in our inability to afford trips to 
     visit our children and grandchildren. Our children cannot 
     afford to visit us. We now make sure that trips to town are 
     fewer and with more errands accomplished per trip.
       Our government needs to (1) open all areas to oil drilling, 
     (2) Increase development of solar power technology to include 
     vast solar collection arrays in the unused desert areas, (3) 
     consider nuclear energy power development, (4) do not overtax 
     our energy companies, (5) develop policies that will curtail 
     energy speculators from driving up prices and (6) provide 
     incentives for non oil based powered automobile production.
     James, Bonners Ferry.
                                  ____

       Thanks for your concern in this matter. I am a soon-to-be 
     67 year old, retired, on a fixed income. My wife and I live 
     approximately 20 miles NW of Couer d'Alene. I am thankful for 
     our wood stove as it allows us to keep our heating costs 
     reasonable. Not so when it comes to gasoline. The prices in 
     Rathdrum are near $4 per gallon, and it looks like prices 
     will continue to rise. We do need four wheel drive vehicles 
     around here. My truck is indispensable in so many things I 
     do, including a logging ministry that a friend and I are 
     engaged in. Yes, we cut trees and give the proceeds away. 
     Keeping nothing for ourselves. With our grandchildren on the 
     coast, the cost of traveling is now being considered more and 
     more. Where does it end?
       What I have been asking for years is why, when we have been 
     blessed with oil and natural gas reserves that will provide 
     this economic engine to our country, are we still choosing to 
     allow our energy policy to be dictated by people who want to 
     prohibit our energy independence and prosperity. It makes no 
     sense. As is being reported regularly, food costs are rising 
     at an alarming rate due to the cost of transportation. I 
     challenge you and others who we elected to represent us, to 
     begin setting the stage for oil exploration/drilling, and to 
     promote the use of nuclear energy, among other sensible 
     items.
       I hope this is not in the ``for what is it worth'' 
     category, but that you are indeed deeply concerned about this 
     self-imposed dilemma. And a self-imposed, and totally 
     solvable problem it is.
     John.
                                  ____

       With my household, it has been a bit hard. When I first 
     bought my Dodge neon, I was putting about $15 in my tank 
     every two weeks. But that was back in 2004 when my husband 
     and I could buy a house for close to nothing. Now I easily 
     spend $40 every two weeks and that is if I do not drive 
     anywhere but school and back. Then add on our house bills 
     which is $1,000 with utilities, then food which is $200 a 
     month, phone is $50 a month, the internet which I need for 
     school is also $50 a month, and my husband only makes $700 
     every two weeks. My husband was also asked to step down by 
     Micron and they docked his pay. I am 26 years old and cannot 
     seem to find a job so I went back to school to enter the 
     medical field. So that leaves the only one working is my 
     husband and he has to work 12-hour shifts three to four 
     nights a week. Now he is forced to work almost five nights or 
     six nights a week just to pay for food, bills, and maybe 
     Oreo's if we are lucky for luxury. Plus we have to pay for my 
     school bills, which means sometimes our phone is shut off or 
     we miss a house payment. I was a stay-at-home mom but now I 
     am forced back into the working world. And all I can do at 
     the end of the day is cry alone at night and hope we can get 
     through the next week. We have thought about moving but that 
     would mean renting and they will not allow our dogs to go 
     into the rentals. And I am not about to give up my dogs. The 
     only thing keeping me going half the time is I will be 
     graduating next year with an associates degree in medical 
     specialist. And that will hopefully help me to find a job to 
     help my family out.
     Danielle.
                                  ____

       High energy prices are taking a toll on not just me, but my 
     community. Because of the rise in gas prices, I can no longer 
     afford in my budget to do something that I love to do--
     volunteer. I have volunteered with Family Services Alliance 
     of Southeast Idaho for a year, but as the price of gas got 
     over 3$ a gallon, I had to stop. One part of the job is to be 
     able to drive to homes of victims of domestic violence when 
     the police ask for an advocate. The best way to help a victim 
     of sexual assault or domestic violence is to empower them by 
     showing them that they are not just victims, they are 
     survivors. But to do this, you need to go where they are and 
     intervene immediately. It requires taking a car. While it 
     pains me to have to cut this out of my activities, I have 
     already cut back in other ways and it was a hard decision to 
     make.
     Diana, Pocatello.
                                  ____

       I have been a small business owner, (one that pays taxes 
     and one of the thousands of small businesses that support 
     this country) for over thirty-five years. I am amazed and 
     deeply troubled by the political chaos in our country and the 
     energy crisis that is bankrupting this country. Our raw 
     materials have raised three or four fold over the last few 
     years and the energy situation is driving many small 
     businesses out of business. I see the effects trickling down 
     to food and other essentials. Many families are in deep 
     trouble and I see it becoming drastic if something is not 
     done in a short period of time. I do not mean in a few years. 
     If Congress does not take steps immediately to put a stop to 
     this runaway disaster, America will never recover and we will 
     never have a quality of life again in America.
       I hate to seem gloomy but I see business and families 
     everyday that are panicked. When we let OPEC and other 
     foreign governments support the so-called ``Greenies'' and 
     other environmental groups in America to the extent that we 
     cannot take care of our own needs here at home, then we of 
     all people are to be pitied. America is rich with raw 
     materials and coal and oil. It is completely insane to let 
     governments that hate us hold us hostage. My fourteen-year-
     old grandson has more sense than that. Oil companies are 
     getting filthy rich while the American People are suffering. 
     If there is going to be anything left for our children and 
     grandchildren, then we better quit worrying about the owl

[[Page 322]]

     or the snail and start worrying about our children and 
     grandchildren. I do not know one American that I associate 
     with that does not care about the environment and wildlife 
     etc. But it is ridiculous for us to govern ourselves into 
     non-existence.
       I urge you to take a stand against this corruption and turn 
     us back to common sense. I am very concerned and I vote.
     Danny.
                                  ____

       I am a 63-year-young woman who is disabled. I am on SSI 
     when I get a cost of living raise, my rent goes up and eats 
     it up. So for me this is really rough; I run out of money 
     before the month is out. The cost of food has doubled mostly 
     and it goes on and on. Thank you.
     Judith.
                                  ____

       High gasoline prices are really putting a damper on our 
     monthly budget. My wife and I are in our 50's and we do not 
     have a high income. I am partially disabled and working for 
     low wages. We do not feel that we are going to be able to 
     drive much longer. We have parked one of our cars. In my 
     driving of over 30 years, we have seen the 1973 oil embargo 
     and so called shortage and many other price hikes. But this 
     is beyond comprehension. I am not one for government control 
     but in this case I feel that the government must take over 
     the oil. Otherwise it is going to put a huge damper on the 
     economy. We have only seen the beginning. OPEC has held 
     America hostage with these prices.
     Larry.

                          ____________________