The Other Costs of Rising Fuel Prices

Statement

The Other Costs of Rising Fuel Prices

While the recent surge in gasoline prices has impacted nearly every aspect of American life, there are far reaching impacts beyond the car at the pump or even the increased cost of groceries at the corner market.

Senior citizens, especially those who live on low- or fixed-incomes, have found themselves particularly threatened by the rise in fuel costs.

A Los Angeles Time/Bloomberg poll conducted last month found, among those 65 and over, more than two-thirds (67 percent) said the recent rise in gas prices has caused them or their family a great deal of financial hardship.

What's more, a June 2008 Quinnipiac poll found 65 percent of households with income less than $30,000 a year have cut back significantly on household spending.

Even seniors who do not drive are being impacted by high gas prices. Millions of seniors rely on programs like Meals-on-Wheels to deliver food, support and assistance straight to their door.

These programs in turn rely on thousands of volunteers to make deliveries - and a willingness (and ability) on the part of those volunteers to travel to and from seniors' homes. With skyrocketing gas prices, however, many volunteers can no longer afford to participate in these programs -- and, as a result, programs have been forced to reduce services to seniors.

The Meals on Wheels Association of America conducted a survey of its members at the end of May 2008, discovering:

* 58 percent respondents had "lost volunteers due to gas prices"
* 48.3 of programs indicated increases in gas prices had forced them to eliminate meal delivery routs or to consolidate their meal services.

Several Meals on Wheels providers in the Third District have pointed to high gas prices as a significant strain on their organizations.

Our first responders - those who keep up safe on a daily basis and who are the first on the scene during an emergency - are also being affected.

Police officers and ambulances can't stop driving and they can't stop answering emergency calls. Most areas of the country have already instituted steps to conserve gas, such as rigid maintenance schedules, driving slower or cutting other areas of the budget.

Still other cities have mandated patrol cars and ambulances run with their air conditioners off and their windows rolled up when traveling at high speeds to reduce drag. But these are just short-term patches, and if gas prices continue to rise, those who protect and serve our communities may find their options running out.

Despite posturing by those on all sides of the political spectrum, there is no magic bullet to solve our energy problems.

I have long advocated for a diverse American energy portfolio - one in which everything is on the table.

In a few days I, along with House Republican Leader John Boehner and nine other Members of Congress, will travel to Colorado and Alaska to visit facilities on the forefront of efforts to reduce America's reliance on foreign sources of energy.

Simply put, every source of energy - solar, wind, nuclear, clean coal, hydropower, domestic exploration - should be on the table as we craft America's energy portfolio. We are learning too well the repercussions of putting all of our energy eggs into one basket. Instead, we need to take an ‘all of the above' approach if we are to effectively combat high gas prices.

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