Idahoans Speak Out on High Energy Prices
Floor Speech
IDAHOANS SPEAK OUT ON HIGH ENERGY PRICES -- (Senate - July 15, 2008)
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 energy Xprices@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 Mike, One of your comments on the topic hit home with me--the fact that, due to the size of our state, Idahoans are being left with few options in the face of higher gasoline prices. That is, sadly, my personal case.
I have the good fortune to be employed in Moscow for the University of Idaho. My home is up near Sandpoint. It is more than a commute distance, but I do get to go home on the weekends--a two-hour drive through, as I'm sure you're aware, some of the loveliest country anywhere. It is also twice as expensive now as it was when I joined the University in 2003.
Sure, I would love an alternative. But population density in our state does not allow light rail to be competitive, public transportation on that route runs only between such, ah, urban centers as Desmet and Hayden. (That would be greater metropolitan Desmet. If you go through there, do not blink.)
In short, we are stuck. Along the way, I've been noticing quite a few more cars parked near the highway than I used to. Big ones--Tahoes and Suburbans and other 4WD monsters too uneconomical to run under the new energy regime. Cars that offered their owners a measure of safety during the Idaho winters, and you are aware of what the last one was like. (By the way, it snowed in Moscow on the 10th of June. I am not kidding.)
What we are compromising with here in the name of economy is safety. There aren't really any numbers to describe that sort of choice, but it is not unusual in the transportation arena. Mandating a higher mileage requirement for domestic automobiles, for example, runs straight into the safety issue. I'd like people in D.C., to be aware that SUVs aren't necessarily useless affectations, and that choosing an alternative is not quite as easy out here as it is, say, to hop a train on the Boston-Atlanta metropolitan axis.
What to do? Well, it is generally good guidance to advise the government to get the heck out of the way in circumstances such as these. That means reviewing and discarding out-of-date environmental restrictions, for one. Can we really believe in this age of nuclear fuel re-processing that we still need to have swimming pools full of poisonous spent rods when something practical might be done with them? Silliness. It needs to be reviewed and corrected. It means not mandating nationwide speed restrictions when region A has different requirements than region B. It means stopping every state from mandating different gasoline formulae so that the refineries have to guess what and how much to make for where, when. That drives up their cost in the meantime. I'd love the government to ``encourage'' private research into alternate energy, largely by refraining from over-regulation.
Sure, I'd love a cheap, government-subsidized train ride from Moscow to the Canadian border, but I simply cannot countenance robbing my fellow citizens to pay for it. If it cannot stand on its own, let it be.
What I want most of all is for the government to stop flapping mindlessly to the gassy wind coming from the global warming hucksters. Just because it is an international political enthusiasm does not make it backed by valid science. And if we are going to clobber our economy in an effort to choke off carbon dioxide, of all things, we really ought to do so based on something other than computer modeling with more assumptions than data backing it. The government can say ``no'' to that sort of garbage but if it says ``yes'' it better be ready to pay for the damage. And not, I hope, with my money. Thanks for letting me vent, Mike.
Tim, Moscow.
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Senator Crapo. Thank you for the opportunity to voice my opinion and state my case in this situation.
Oil is the fuel of democracy, and there is no other natural resource available at this time that can replace it. None. I am convinced that unless the Congress acts now, they will be harnessed by the undertakers of historical fact with sabotaging our once-vibrant and globally-dominant economy with fuel prices that will cripple our ability to remain competitive at home and abroad.
[Conservatives] have a real opportunity to take this issue and own it. I cannot fathom a capitalist democracy offering up to investigate the profits of private industry when the government themselves are the only ones clearly guilty of benefiting from a windfall profit. By definition, a windfall profit is benefiting from a market occurrence you had nothing to do with. The government has nothing to do with the profitability of these oil companies, but benefits by levying the taxes and regulations.
Here's an Idahoan's approach to solving this:
1. Suspend the federal taxes immediately--this will not fix a thing, but will give a brief reprieve while you approve more domestic oil exploration.
2. Immediately announce that all [conservatives] will unite to pursue immediate off shore drilling, on shore drilling and especially drilling in remote locations such as the ANWR.
3. Stop corn subsidies to the corn growers for ethanol that has proven to be a political hay-making machine. I see right through this pandering to the early caucus and primary states, and it is wrong. It does not bring down the cost of fuel.
4. Approve more refineries to handle the flow of crude from our own wells and pipelines.
5. Explain to the American public why Iraq fuel is not flowing here yet in an amount that would benefit both nations.
6. Approve more clean energy like nuclear fuel and get Yucca Mountain open.
7. Approve more clean coal-burning power stations in the West. Look at the Navajo Nation!!!!
Most level-headed like-minded Americans will follow your lead in the pursuit of patriotic exploration of oil in our country. We need it. It has been long enough since we last cared about the state of our country in preserving our economy so we can preserve our country and way of life.
I love my way of life and wasted about five minutes calculating my [carbon] footprint on some website. I found out what I already knew--my carbon footprint was ten times larger than the average world citizen. Well, no news flash--the average Idahoan produces ten times more benefit to the world than the average world citizen. That is what makes Idaho great, and I love my state!
Get out front of this wave of frustration and cash in on the patriotic exploration of domestic oil. We will support you. I hate depending on politicians--but I have no choice on this one. I am depending on you to get something fixed.
Ben.
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DEAR SENATOR CRAPO. Lowering the price of gasoline will not solve the current crisis for our country. If, by legislation, we were able to gain another source within our country, Americans would return to complacency and fail again to conserve. I believe a better use of legislative power is this:
Actually ask Americans to conserve what we have.
Support those many innovative people now researching alternative fuel (cooking oil, peanut butter, soybeans, hydrogen, whatever) for a sensible, quick and urgent solution--with the same fervor that went into the race to be first on the moon.
Offer incentives to car manufacturers to discontinue gas hogs, or provide an economical conversion option for existing engines; and to begin consistent production of hybrid vehicles with stellar mileage capacity on these alternate fuels.
Reduce dependence upon oil and gas from all sources, whether from unfriendly nations or from our own reserves.
Thank you for asking.
BJ, Post Falls.
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To Whom It May Concern: The energy prices are of great concern to our family. We budget very conscientiously and always spend less than we make and try our best to pay down our mortgage and invest regularly. Our budget for gasoline has had to double over the past two years from $150/month to $300/month. We are a one-income family, and my husband commutes 50 miles round trip to work every day.
Due to the housing market, moving closer to work would cost us even more over a five to ten-year period, since the value of our house has decreased and the value of housing near his work has managed to stay pretty level. Not to mention that we like where we live and do not want to move. We have a very low fixed interest rate in our current mortgage as well.
As a result of the increasing costs, even camping, as a family vacation, is becoming cost-prohibitive. To manage the increase so far, we have reduced our travel plans and cut some from our regular savings and investment budget. However, with the concurrent grocery price increases and overall inflation, I foresee further cuts across the board for our budget as our costs rise and income stays the same.
Unlike the government, gas pumps, grocery stores, etc., we have no one to pass along our ``cost increase'' to. We have to make do with what we have.
I am infuriated that we allow other countries to drill offshore and yet not ourselves. The U.S. would run a cleaner and more efficient operation offshore than any of the other countries we currently encourage to work there. I am also a supporter of nuclear energy and think we need to keep building refineries for oil, concurrently with nuclear energy plants and other energy sources.
I often look at the policies that are being proposed and it is difficult not to believe the conspiracy theories that there are many in power who want Americans to suffer, who want the dollar's value to keep plummeting, who want energy prices to soar for their own political ends.
I hope my story and my opinion help in your research.
Blessings,
LORNA, Boise.
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SENATOR CRAPO, I recently completed a complete analysis of sources of alternative energy at my ranch in Swan Valley, Idaho. Fuel and energy costs are now so prohibitive that we cannot sustain our business without passing on those costs or we will have to face the prospect of just shutting down. I looked at wind, water, bio gas and solar and, initially, I did not consider the capital costs required to install them. I used actual history for electricity and propane usage over the past couple of years. We raise beef cattle and registered horses, so I have plenty of possible methane production; we have a pretty constant canyon wind, especially in the summer; and we have a large stream that borders the property and it has a high flow rate in the spring and early summer. I carefully estimated wind days, solar days, flow volumes and efficient, but realistic manure collection. What I found was that for about $300,000 to $500,000 of capital, I could cover no more than 30 percent of my annual electricity and propane needs! I didn't even start on my diesel and gasoline requirements. My conclusion from this analysis is that we must utilize oil, coal and nuclear power to continue to provide the majority of our energy requirements in this country long into the future. It is not just our economy that we need to worry about, but the very fabric of our society is at stake! Renewable energy is a curiosity and may help in small amounts in localized applications, but it is obvious to me that you cannot take small net energy sources and produce big net energy sources from them. Be concerned about ethanol and bio diesel for that very reason. We need to stop this anal conservation lunacy and utilize our natural resources to solve our energy problem! Absolutely, we need to take care of the environment, but we cannot afford to pay these prices (especially as the money goes directly to the Middle East to fund our enemies!). The solution to the problem is obvious--why cannot we set aside political posturing and get this done???
KEN, Swan Valley.
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I consider Idaho my home. I love the state, the out of doors and, most of all, the people. I have lived here for over ten years having moved here from Bend, Oregon. My career has taken me all over the world. I have lived or traveled through 39 countries in the last twenty years prior to moving here, and there is nowhere else I would rather live. Presently, I live 45 miles north of Boise, near New Plymouth.
For a number of years, I worked for Woodgrain Millwork as manager of one of their testing and coatings sections. When that closed, I transferred to Kelly Moore as the outside Industrial and Commercial Sales Rep. Life has been very enjoyable. However, a large portion of my activity centers around construction, food processing and manufacturing. Each of these sectors has had to restructure a good many of their plans as one might expect.
It is my belief the market in Idaho will recover at some point; however, it is simply a matter of how long the individual can hold out. Commissions, as one would expect, have lagged, and, of course, the cost of living has not. I have a pretty good-sized territory requiring considerable driving. Every two weeks, I have been spending around $250 for gas. Today, I turned in receipts for close to $500. While the company offsets the majority of this, I still bear a portion and, with the increase in the overall cost of living and the decline in commissions, I am having to look for work elsewhere. I have been supplementing the difference out of savings; I cannot keep doing that. The fact of the matter is Friday I fly to Portland for an interview, a bitter pill, but I must get the bleed under control. Given the changes over the last seven to eight months, I see no other choice.
ROGER.
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SENATOR CRAPO, Even though I make a good living these gas prices couldn't have hit at a worse time. I am trying to get my bills paid down so that I can afford to retire. It does not look like I'll be retiring anytime soon.
I am very upset with Congress; they should be opening up exploration and drilling in this country. I agree with Newt: Drill here, Drill now, Pay less. Please work towards this goal.
Thank you for asking,
BILL, Meridian.
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Yeah, gas is too high and it makes the price of everything go up. Food prices are going crazy, produce, it is killing the farmers the truckers and the consumers. Now the electric bill is going up, natural gas going up, but wages not so much.
I make $15.60 an hour, pretty good for Idaho; but if I hadn't already bought into my house eight years ago, I would be out of luck.
I believe transit would help a good deal, but the bus system [is not adequate]. Not enough money to run a real bus system. Federal funding keeps getting cut and cut again. It does not make sense. If you want people to cut consumption of gas, you have to give them options.
Sincerely,
CONNIE, Boise.
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I would like to respond to your request for comments regarding energy prices and their effect on the people you represent.
Like many people in the greater Boise metro area, I work in downtown Boise but live in communities in the surrounding areas. I work as a software developer, and as such I make what is largely considered to be a comfortable income. I drive a late 80s sedan that I have owned for ten years, and was owned by my parents before me. Unlike many neighbors, I carry no debt outside of my home mortgage, but my mortgage is a significant portion of my after-tax income (greater than 35 percent). My family functions on a very lean budget, not eating out often, producing our own vegetables in our garden, and taking few road trips or vacations.
Lately I have needed to cut back on my driving due to increased fuel costs. My commute now costs me roughly $5.50 per day just in gas. According to the IRS standard vehicle expense deduction, the real cost is $12.12 daily, which includes upkeep and repair as well as fuel costs. Just last year, I was able to function within a $3 per day commute budget. To counteract these increases in cost, I have purchased a road bicycle and am starting to ride in to work the 12 miles one way. Unfortunately, this adds an extra 1.5 hours to my day. So now my workday increased from roughly nine hours away from home to almost eleven hours.
However, I also suffer from severe allergies specifically relating to tree pollen, grasses and weeds, of which our desert climate and river surrounding community has plenty. These allergies cause my eyes to swell shut when pollen levels increase beyond reasonable levels. The Boise valley area has especially bad pollen problems, due to frequent inversions and stale summer air conditions.
So I am faced with the choice of saving money by riding a bicycle, but suffering debilitating allergic reactions, or paying an additional 54 percent in transportation costs, which cuts out monies allocated in our budget to spending time with my family in local restaurants, or for charitable giving to the Rescue Mission. Those businesses and charities, in turn, no doubt, are feeling the pinch from other families in similar situations, so local businesses are suffering as well.
The net result of rising costs of fuel and inadequate public transportation in suburban cities, is a lose-lose situation for both me and my community. Add to this problem the speculative nature of fuel prices due to our nations reliance on fuel imports, and the future becomes even less certain. An uncertain future means less spending. Less spending means economic shortfalls and contraction.
I am entirely in favor of new efforts to expand new domestic oil exploration and refining capacity as well as investments in nuclear energy infrastructure to help reassign valuable fossil fuels like natural gas or oil to transportation uses and away from electrical power generation. And I also am in favor of long term research in alternate energy and alternate transportation but not to the exclusion of shorter term solutions that make use of our nations existing vehicle inventory and infrastructure.
Thank you for your desire to hear from your constituents.
JASON, Meridian.
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