S10470 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE October 2, 2008 

former OLO, which is now responsible for 

lender oversight. ). 

While the former BLX’s bankruptcy 

makes the contents of the report moot 

to that particular company, we want to 

set the record straight on how this 

matter was handled so that, hopefully, 

SBA will handle such reports with 

more openness in the future. 

Thank you, Mr. President. 

f 

IDAHOANS SPEAK OUT ON HIGH 

ENERGY PRICES 

Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, in midJune, 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. To respect their efforts, 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: 

We have tried to have a fair amount of expendable income for emergencies and unexpected expenses, but with the rising gas 

prices we have seen this ‘‘buffer’’ disappear. 

We are both employed outside the home and 

must drive a fair distance to get to work. We 

have owned the same vehicles for over four 

years. We do not have a lot of options to 

lower our fuel costs. We cannot sell our 

home and move closer to our jobs. We cannot 

sell our vehicles and buy more fuel efficient 

vehicles so we are kind of stuck. For the 

first time in our lives, we have had to resort 

to putting gasoline on credit cards to get 

from paycheck to paycheck. It is not just the 

gas prices, but I have seen a 400% increase in 

my power bill that I have no explanation for. 

Nothing has changed in my usage and, in 

fact, I switched to a gas dryer to try to decrease consumption. But, last year my average power bill was $30 a month. This year it 

is $120 a month. Also, I have found that the 

$100 per week I spend on groceries only buys 

half of what it used to. The rising gas prices 

have affected many areas of my life and my 

budget. In fact, my husband was asked to 

take a 10% cut in pay about two months ago 

because the construction company he works 

for was having a difficult time keeping up 

with rising costs in construction. It seems 

like every aspect of our lives is being affected by the rising gas prices, and we are 

powerless to do anything about it. What is 

even more frustrating is knowing that the 

problem could be remedied by the federal 

government if they would be willing to take 

action. There are options available to use 

our own resources and refuse to have an entire nation held prisoner by foreign oil. I am 

aware of the concerns by environmentalists, 

but I believe we have the technology to remove these resources with minimal effect on 

the environment. It is wrong to allow one 

group of individuals to have the power to adversely affect an entire nation just because 

they have the time and resources to scream 

in the government’s ear while the rest of 

America is too busy just fighting to survive. 

We are lucky because we have good-paying 

jobs and are able, so far, to absorb the cost. 

But I worry about my children who are 

struggling to make ends meet and raising 

their children and are being forced sometimes to choose between buying food or paying their utilities and putting gas in their 

car to get to work. We all need help—now. 

JANE, Iona. 

Thank you for the opportunity to respond 

on the rising cost of gasoline, food, energy, 

etc. I am amazed at how much everything 

has risen in the past six months. My electricity bill is on level pay (I do not like surprises so I opt to have a set amount each 

month). This past month my level pay went 

up $24 a month! I am already paying $95 a 

month for natural gas to heat my home and 

water. Our city has just raised the cost of 

water, garbage and sewer by $12 a month; at 

least that is how much my bill went up. 

Gasoline—boy, where do I start! When it 

started going up three years ago, I started 

cutting back then; now there really is not a 

lot that I can do. I plan my day around 

where I need to go. I try to do everything in 

one day so that I am not running into town 

for one item. We are walking or riding our 

bikes to places that do not require us to 

carry a lot. If I have a doctor’s appointment, 

I try to make other appointments the same 

day and spend the day going from one to the 

other—doing shopping, errands, etc. all in 

that day. It makes for a very long day, but 

then I do not drive anywhere for two or three 

days. I think it saves me in the long run. I 

do belong to a fitness club and try to carpool 

with my cousin to that. We take turns driving and if we have errands to do, we do them 

together if it is in the same area—saves us 

both on gas. 

I have a small business where I have to 

travel to people’s homes. I have had to 

charge a service call of $25 if it is out of Pocatello. I used to give free estimates all 

around the area, but I cannot afford it any 

more. If the clients purchase from me, then 

I will apply the $25 to their order. It is the 

only way I can afford to run my business. 

What else can I do? 

My two adult sons purchased scooters 

three years ago and some of their friends at 

ISU laughed at them—now my sons are the 

ones that are laughing as their friends tell 

them how smart they were to get those 

scooters when they did, because the price of 

them have doubled! My husband rides his 

motorcycle to work (a 22-mile round trip) 

every day when the weather is good. It saves 

us about $100 a month because we are not 

filling his truck up weekly. 

I wish that the government would listen to 

the people, not those environmentalist 

wackos who are tree huggers. I want more 

refineries in our country. I want more drilling in our country. I do not like the fact that 

our money goes to those foreign countries 

who hate America! Why are we supporting 

them? They take our money, control the oil 

prices and are out to get us one way or another! We need to become independent of 

them—we do not need them—let’s use the resources that are in our own country! Let us 

make America great and the super power we 

once was. 

I wonder why the car manufacturers do not 

design a car that gets better gas mileage! I 

know that the technology is there. I heard 

about 25 years ago that a gentleman had developed a car that got better gas mileage and 

the car manufacturers and gas companies 

paid him millions for his plans and the rights 

to them and he sold them to them. So I 

think that car manufacturers are in cahoots 

with the gas companies too! 

Another thing—we do not need to help 

those countries that hate us. Stop sending 

aid to countries that want us dead! Let them 

help themselves—we have our own problems 

here that we really need to take care of—do 

not worry about these other countries—take 

care of us!! 

DEBBIE. 

Thank you for your concerns. It is appreciated. High fuel prices have affected every 

single item we purchase and everyday living. 

We spend roughly around $500 per month just 

traveling to work and back home. We only 

travel when it is absolutely necessary. We 

had planned a family reunion in Washington 

State this summer, but have cancelled due to 

the higher and ever increasing cost of fuel. 

We turn off our oil furnace unless it is too 

cold that we cannot get by with extra blankets. Our heating fuel cost for 11⁄2 month is 

up to $668. Food and necessities are up 20% 

from four months ago, on most items. Clothing prices are up as much as 40% on some 

items. Everything is costing more. 

I am employed with a state entity. I received a 4% increase, which I am grateful 

for, just enough of an increase to cover the 

increase in cost of our health insurance. As 

you can see, it does not cover the cost of inflation. My husband and I now worry if we 

are going to have to save less for our retirement in order to just live! 

Our children have families of their own. It 

is even harder for them. Even though Idaho 

has increased the wages, it still does not 

seem to be in line with the continuing increases in the cost of living. I do not see 

things getting any better in the near future. 

In fact, I feel they will just get worse. 

ANNA. 

This e-mail is in response to your recent enewsletter on energy prices. 

Stories: Our church is investing in modern, 

high-efficiency heating and improved insulation including blinds over windows that we 

believe will reduce energy use and cost. The 

downside is that the money for these improvements and high energy costs will not be 

spent on community mission work in Pocatello and beyond. 

Individual persons and families we know 

are changing habits. We held a group discussion at worship to invite ideas and solutions. 

Examples are: more use of bikes with emphasis on Pocatello Free Bikes (rebuilt by teenagers) for people with less money for new 

bikes; more thoughtful planning of shopping 

trips such as combining stops rather than 

multiple home-store trips; use of mass transit and calls for more organized carpooling in 

Pocatello; calls for coordination between bus 

fleet operators (Pocatello, School District 25, 

ISU, etc.) to increase flexibility and service. 

We all lose some choices in how we use our 

time. 

Some commuters (Pocatello to Blackfoot 

or Idaho Falls) are looking for work closer to 

home. Pocatello is a poor city with average 

per capita income only about 2⁄3 the national 

average. Workers who accept lower pay in 

Pocatello to compensate for high motor fuel 

costs simply reduce the disposable income in 

town. The long-term effect will be local businesses further in decline (or not growing and 

expanding) and a shift of economy to greymarket (you help me fix my car; I’ll help fix 

your deck) that is outside normal commerce 

and taxation. So this impact will begin to reduce government income. 

There is more discussion among thoughtful 

people about sustainability than I have 

heard in years. People are asking questions 

about an energy-intensive economy that will 


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October 2, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S10471 

reveal massive cheap energy misuse and 

waste in the agriculture system; considering 

community design around live-work-play 

areas as opposed to commuting; and raising 

concerns that short-term greed in the energy 

economic system will lead to further economic class division and injustices. Congress 

cannot allow our economy to decline to a 

survival of the richest over the general public without inciting class warfare. We are 

seeing the beginnings of mass protest worldwide—trucker strikes, etc. 

Thoughts on Congressional priorities. 

Short-term: Get the Department of Energy 

to be pro-active. US–DOE has lots of information on their web site but little seems to 

be circulating in terms of press releases, supplements to K–12 or university education, advice to businesses about how to conserve and 

make better energy investments leading to 

sustainability. 

Do not give blanket permission to energy 

companies to use non-renewable resources 

(e.g. drilling on land, off-shore, sensitive 

areas, dirty coal, etc.) until a parallel energy 

use reduction for sustainability system is 

working. Using our children’s and grandchildren’s resources to feed the pig of US energy consumption levels and obscene energy 

company profits now would be immoral. 

Do more to expand public education 

around energy and resource conservation for 

a sustainable US energy future. This should 

be a crash project. I wrote to you, Sen. Craig 

and Rep. Simpson recommending that the 

2005 Federal Energy Bill include funding for 

education. There is not a penny. So market 

forces (AKA Greed) are driving the energy 

train now. Coordinate all the players in the 

energy mess: governments (federal, state, 

and local); corporations and other businesses; non-government/non-profit organizations (information and advocacy, compassionate action for impacted people); and, organized crime (like Enron-thinking companies who are taking windfall profits). Use 

principles of social marketing that uses commercial advertising/marketing tools to sell 

products but for common good purposes 

(anti-smoking, AIDS prevention, etc.) 

Longer/long-term: Get the Department of 

Energy to be pro-active in developing policy 

and programs. These folks have not developed viable federal energy policy or jawboned to reduce corporate greed for decades. 

For example, technology and policy for nuclear power developed into the 70s simply 

died in favor of status-quo non-renewable resource use and shift of food production (corn) 

to energy. If the nation could build nuclear 

bombs and nuclear submarines in crash 

projects in the past, the nation can do it 

again! 

Support the next President of the United 

States in collaborating with other nations 

about energy sustainability worldwide 

through the United Nations. Revitalize and 

support treaties and alliances among groups 

willing to sacrifice and change to achieve 

sustainability on the planet. Without this effort there will be conflict and violence over 

competition for dwindling non-renewable resources. Competition for Iraq oil is the tip of 

the iceberg here. 

Actively promote public education, research and development for the two major 

non-polluting energy sources: nuclear power 

and solar power. Support renewable energy 

research into smaller make-a-difference energy contributions such as wind, tidal, geothermal, etc. Support research in related 

technology such as: high-MPG vehicles, innovative mass transit, and improved batteries to store solar/wind energy, easy-to-use 

sensors for home and business energy audit 

(thermal/electrical waste). Pay for energy research by cutting back on spending for fear 

reduction by violence—reduce military missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and shift to political, diplomatic, economic efforts with 

other nations involved. 

Use the national energy crisis as a lever to 

re-think the role of corporations. Once corporations were set up to help remove liability from individuals so they would take risk, 

invest, and build enterprise for America and 

Americans. Over the past few decades, corporations have lost their social responsibility and think of top management and 

shareholders as the only stakeholders worthy of decisions. But corporations are the 

nation’s best hope for good jobs and ‘doing 

well by doing good.’ If you folk cannot help 

get corporations back into part of the American dream for all Americans then the 

masses will push for government shift toward socialism. I lived and worked in the UK 

for many years and know the stifling effect 

of an entitlement mentality. 

LAURENCE. 

I am a Federal Police Officer, and I work 

at the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Boise. I live 50 miles from the VA, so 

I have a daily commute of 100 miles. My wife 

and I would consider moving closer to Boise; 

however, she is a federal employee at the 

Mountain Home Air Force Base. She has a 

20-mile daily commute (roundtrip). I prefer 

for her to have a shorter commute than me. 

We do see the effects of the higher gas 

prices. I drive a 2002 Ford Ranger 4X4. I never 

wanted to own a full-size truck, and I am 

glad I bought the Ranger. However, the best 

mileage I can get is about 21 mpg. I would 

hate to sell my truck, because we need it for 

working on our land. Besides that, it is 

tough to get a load of lumber at the Home 

Depot in a little economy car. So, I eat the 

gas prices and continue to work at my good 

federal job. We are cutting back on some of 

the things we like to do, such as go out to 

dinner, golf, and travel. These are all things 

that help the economy, and we enjoy doing 

them. But something has to be done, hence 

the cutbacks. I am also spending the night in 

Boise at least one night a week so I can 

avoid the commute, and the gas station. I do 

not like being away from my family, but it 

is another sacrifice I have to make to save at 

the pump. 

I hate to think about the future, as the 

price of gas will be passed down to food, 

clothing, and other essential elements of 

life. I pray that the government will open up 

drilling, build more refineries, and start 

building more nuclear plants. We need to cut 

our ties with OPEC and other corrupt oilproducing countries. 

Congress, please help us! 

GREG, Mountain Home. 

I am happy to see you working on the renewable energy efficiency caucus. For 28 

years before recent retirement, I founded and 

owned the first solar electricity equipment 

business in Idaho, providing electric systems 

for homes located beyond the reach of power 

lines, of which there are many in our state. 

My own home has been primarily powered by 

solar and wind since 1978. 

I would like to point out that Idaho drivers 

actually do have some important choices 

available which you did not mention at the 

start of your newsletter where you said we 

have no choice but to keep driving. The 

choice of exactly what vehicle we drive, as 

well as consolidating travel for efficiency 

can cut family fuel costs by 25% or more. 

Traveling in Europe and Central America 

one sees many fuel-efficient vehicles that are 

not even available to Americans: the small 

diesel flatbeds that carry more weight than 

a pick-up truck and use less fuel to do it 

(they are slower going up hills). While traveling in Ireland and England for a month last 

year, we did not see even one standard pickup truck, for the reason of fuel efficiency. 

And I did see many quality small cars and 

scooters that are not imported to the US, 

such as a motor scooter with seat back and 

roof by BMW. 

I would also question whether your efforts 

to stifle climate change legislation in trade 

for avoiding high fuel costs in the short term 

make economic sense in the long-term interests of US citizens. If what is said of climate 

change effects comes to pass, those with credentials to know have shown that taking no 

action to mitigate those effects now may not 

be in the best interests of the country or our 

descendents. Please consider the long range 

balance of benefit here. 

I have watched inventors working on their 

own electric cars (Orin Bridges, now deceased, here in Sandpoint converted his car 

to electric plug-in and drove it 15 miles to 

town and back in the 1990s, and recharged it 

from solar panels on the roof of his mountain 

house). I have seen buses of college kids 

come through teaching classes on bio-diesel, 

which powered the bus they traveled in, also 

around year 2000. And for decades I sold and 

installed solar electric modules as the most 

economical power option for people living 

over half a mile from the nearest power line. 

Now that world fuel production has not increased for three years running and fuel demand and prices are rising, we are seeing tremendous mainstream progress in looking at 

sustainable fuel sources and independence 

from imported oil. Please check the January 

edition of Scientific American for a national 

solution for the electric grid that uses technology available today, and costs no more 

than the Iraq war has cost to date. 

f 

STEVE. 

TRIBUTE TO CENTRAL HIGH 

SCHOOL 

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I have the 

honor of rising today to recognize an 

important part of Detroit’s public education, my alma mater, Detroit Central High School, which is celebrating 

the 150th anniversary of its opening. 

Since 1858, when the first 24 students 

entered a single classroom, thousands 

of students have passed through its 

doors. It was originally conceived to 

help prepare students to study at the 

University of Michigan, then just a few 

decades old itself. Today, Central has 

been continuously accredited by the 

University of Michigan for more than 

135 consecutive years. 

It has occupied the current location 

at Tuxedo Avenue and La Salle Boulevard for more than 80 years. I was fortunate to study and walk the halls 

there for 4 of those years. 

Central alumni have gone on to win a 

Nobel Prize and win Grammy Awards; 

make countless contributions to the 

Detroit community and to Michigan; 

own professional sports teams and play 

professional sports; and fight on behalf 

of our Nation in war, sometimes making the ultimate sacrifice. 

In all these pursuits and many more, 

Central alumni have been challenged 

to live up to our school’s motto, adopted in 1861: Carpe Diem, ‘‘seize the day.’’ 

Our experiences at Central have helped 

prepare us to do that. 

Recently, Central has faced challenges unparalleled in the school’s history. School budgets are tighter than 


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