January 8, 2009 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S205 

make families toil even harder to provide their children with life’s necessities. That is why I am so proud to introduce the Working Family Child Assistance Act to permanently set the 

amount of earnings necessary to qualify for the refundable child tax credit 

at $8,500. 

Last October’s change to boost the 

refundable child tax credit took a significant time to materialize, and although the road was long, it was a 

worthwhile journey. Indeed, our work 

began in 2001 when I pushed to make 

the child tax credit refundable for 

workers making around the minimum 

wage. As enacted in 2001, a portion of a 

taxpayer’s child tax credit would be refundable—up to 10 percent of earnings 

above $10,000. 

Not resting on our victory in 2001, in 

2004, Congress passed the Working 

Families Tax Relief Act of 2004, which 

increased from 10 percent to 15 percent 

the portion of the child tax credit that 

is refundable. Although the legislation 

increased the amount of the refundable 

child credit, it failed to increase the 

number of families eligible for the benefit. The reason was that it did not reduce the amount of earnings a family 

must have to qualify for the incentive. 

Worse still, the earnings threshold rose 

each year because it was adjusted for 

inflation. The consequences were serious for low-income Americans living 

paycheck-to-paycheck because it 

meant that tens of thousands of low-income families were left completely ineligible for a credit they should receive. 

To ensure that low-income families 

could get the benefits that they so 

rightly deserve, I worked with my colleagues to introduce legislation in both 

2005 and 2007 to reduce the earnings 

threshold for the refundable child tax 

credit to $10,000 and to de-index that 

amount for inflation. As I mentioned, 

we were more successful than that last 

year when Congress lowered the earnings threshold for 2008 to $8,500. 

Unfortunately, we cannot rest on our 

laurels and must get right back to 

work. This year, because the incentive 

we passed last October was effective for 

just 2008, only taxpayers earning over 

$12,550 are eligible to receive the refundable portion of the child tax credit. 

Low-income families earning less than 

that amount are shut out of the child 

tax credit completely. 

As an example of how crucial it is to 

enact our legislation to permanently 

set the threshold for the refundable 

credit at $8,500, let’s look at the following example. A single mother who 

earns the current minimum wage of 

$6.55 per hour and works a 40 hour week 

for all 52 weeks of the year would earn 

$13,264. Accordingly, under the law effective for 2009, her refundable child 

tax credit would be $161. In contrast, if 

the earnings threshold were set at 

$8,500, her refundable child tax credit 

would jump to $715. Thus, if Congress 

does not change the law, that mother 

will have 554 fewer dollars in her pocket this year than she did last year. Put 

another way, she won’t have the money 

that is so necessary for her to clothe 

her child and put gas in the car. What 

is even more regrettable is that the 

$554 amount will only grow next year 

because the $12,550 she needed to earn 

this year is adjusted for inflation and 

will increase. 

Let’s do the right thing and make 

permanent the sensible change Congress made last year to set the earnings threshold for the refundable child 

tax credit at $8,500. Our families and 

our country are better off when Government lets people keep more of what 

they earn, particularly the most vulnerable among us. Parents deserve 

their per-child tax credit, and this bill 

rewards families for work. 

In conclusion, I would note that 

President-elect Obama was a stalwart 

supporter of our efforts as a Member of 

the Senate, and I hope that he will 

work with Congress so we can help an 

additional 1 million children, whose 

parents and guardians struggle every 

day to take care of them. 

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. 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 


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S206 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 8, 2009 

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 

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 


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January 8, 2009 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S207 

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 

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. 

f 

LARRY. 

ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS 

TRIBUTE TO DEBRA BROWN 

STEINBERG 

∑ Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I 

commend Debra Brown Steinberg, an 

extraordinary woman who I have had 

the honor of working with for the last 

few years. 

Debra has been a tireless fighter for 

the families of 9/11 victims. While continuing to work fulltime as a partner 

at the law firm of Cadwalader, 

Wickersham & Taft LLP, Debra spearheaded her firm’s pro bono efforts to 

assist the families left behind. 

The cases she handled were complicated, involving myriad issues. 

Many families faced social service, financial and immigration complications. Rather than addressing simply 

the legal aspects of each case, Debra 

worked to connect organizations, agencies, and policies to tackle cases in 

their entirety. 

In May of 2002, New York State 

passed the September 11 Victims and 

Families Relief Act, large portions of 

which Debra helped draft. She also contributed to the Federal September 11th 

Family Humanitarian Relief and Patriotism Act, which was introduced by 

Senator LAUTENBERG in the 110th Congress. 

Debra’s outstanding work has already been recognized by numerous 

current and former Members of Congress, Presidential candidates, authors, 

activists, religious leaders, the New 

York State Bar Association, and many 

distinguished publications. She has received the Ellis Island Medal of Freedom and commendations from the New 

York City Fire Department and Chief 

of Police. No one, however, can better 

speak to Debra’s service than the families themselves. In a thank-you note, a 

sister of one of the victims wrote: 

[Debra] held us, offered her shoulder, and 

made us feel that it is still worthwhile to 

continue this passage. Thank God for this 

Angel. 

For the last 7 years, Debra Steinberg 

has fought for justice for a group of 

people forgotten in the shadows of this 

terrible tragedy. She has given selflessly of her time and expertise to help 

those in need and is an example to others and a credit to our country. I am 

proud to call her my friend.

f 

∑ 

TRIBUTE TO STELLA MAY BROWN 

WEACO 

∑ Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, all of 

us in Massachusetts who knew her or 

knew of her were saddened to learn of 

the death of Stella May Brown Weaco 

at Massachusetts General Hospital on 

New Year’s Eve. 

Stella was born in Mississippi, but 

she called Boston her home for the last 

26 years of her life and she became a 

legend in our city. She lived on the 

streets, but her plight never deterred 

her gentle spirit. She found a home and 

a family in the volunteers and the fellow guests at the Women’s Lunch 

Place, the famed daytime shelter in 

the city for poor and homeless women. 

She went there every day after the 

shelter opened in 1982, and she became 

a familiar face and beloved friend to 

many other members of the community. 

Stella had an amazingly positive impact on every person she met. She is 

very fondly remembered as very grateful, very amicable, and very kind. Year 

after year, the Women’s Lunch Place 

tried to persuade her to accept housing, but her indomitable spirit led her 

to decline such assistance. Finally, 

when the pressures of daily living on 

the streets became unbearable even for 

Stella, she graciously accepted the 

help of those around her and spent the 

last 2 years on her life in the Pine 

Street Inn. 

Even then, Stella unfailingly came 

back to the Women’s Lunch Place as 

often as she could, to seek out the familiar faces and friendships she cherished so much there. Sadly, Stella 

passed away on New Year’s Eve, in the 

company of those who loved her for the 

joy she had given to their lives. In 

many ways, Stella exemplified the 

power and the spirit of giving and the 

extraordinary importance of human 

kindness. She’ll be deeply missed, but 

the impact she had on all who knew 

her is immeasurable, and the lessons 

she taught will never be forgotten. 

Mr. President, I ask that the obituary of Stella written by Women’s 

Lunch Place Executive Director Sharon Reilly and an eloquent column 

about Stella by Rachelle Cohen in the 

Boston Herald may be printed in the 

RECORD. 

The information follows: 

STELLA TAUGHT US ALL ABOUT GRACE, 

DIGNITY

(By Rachelle Cohen, Jan. 5, 2009) 

We lost Stella on New Year’s Eve. 

Even as the city prepared to usher out this 

year that nearly everyone agrees they 

couldn’t wait to see end, this woman who 

had little and complained little died in the 

company of those who cared about her and 

for her. 

For at least a quarter of a century Stella 

lived on the streets. And we only know that 

much because she was there when the Women’s Lunch Place, a daytime shelter for poor 

and homeless women, first opened its doors 

26 years ago. 

For all those years she’d come for breakfast, a shower, to do her laundry, maybe take 

a nap and stay through lunch. For all those 

Thanksgivings and Christmases she had 

found a warm, accepting place. 

She was there when I reported for my first 

stint as a volunteer, by then Stella was an 

undemanding kind of queen bee—occupying 

her favorite spot against the wall in the dining room. She was engaging and gracious, accepting a pancake with butter and syrup as 

if it were a special gift. 

Stella became the ultimate challenge for 

Lunch Place staff over the years. The confusion that reigned in her head—which often 


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