July 8, 2008

Shane P. Linder
XXXX XXXX Ave.
XXXXX, Texas 78XXX

Representative Rubén Hinojosa
U.S. House of Representatives
2463 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Congressman Hinojosa:

SUBJECT: ENERGY

The cost of fuel is a major burden to all Americans today and the poorest among them are the most impacted. As you know, your district has a large population of poor Americans so this issue should be especially important to you. I know unemployed people here in Mercedes that do not even look for work in McAllen any more because they can’t afford the drive. Something needs to be done and I hope we do not have to wait until after the Fall election.

I do not believe it is government policy that got us here. I don’t point the finger at politicians. That said, I think government intervention is required to move us through this. I think three major issues are impacting the price of fuel. 1. Consumption is high. Americans continue to purchase large cars with large engines. 2. Speculators are investing in oil futures and artificially driving the price up as they did with high-tech stocks in the ‘90s and real estate more recently. 3. World oil output is so close to what consumption is if there are any natural disasters, wars or political upheavals in an oil producing nation demand will exceed supply.

I favor legislation that addresses all three of these points. I think it is ripe for compromise. I think the Republicans can get some of what they want and the Democrats can get some of what they want if everyone is willing to work together for not only the good of the American people but for the entire world.

First let’s deal with consumption. A national speed limit has been talked about in recent days. I think a 55-mph speed limit can be used to encourage consumers to purchase more efficient vehicles. Making hybrids and non-petroleum vehicles exempt can do that. Would that be a law enforcement nightmare? Perhaps. If not exempt, let’s give hybrids and non-petroleum vehicles a 15-mph fudge factor that other vehicles don’t get. If they are ticketed between 55-70 mph they get a minor fine ($10-$25) and the ticket doesn’t go on their record since the law is not directed at them.

Let’s also pass a federal tax on petroleum vehicles with engines above a certain size. This tax can be collected by the states when drivers purchase their annual tags or windshield stickers. This tax revenue should be used to fund alternative energy projects. Taxes like this will discourage the purchase of larger vehicles. The auto industry will manufacture more efficient cars when consumers demand them.

Let set a date when no more new petroleum-only personal vehicles can be sold in the US. Of course people will still be able to sell used cars but all the new ones will have to be either hybrids or alternative fuel. I think light and large trucks that use only petroleum need to be available for commercial and industrial use well into the future but we have the technology now to phase out petroleum-only vehicles for personal use. A minivan is set to come out this year in Europe that runs on compressed air and should be in the US by 2010. As the number of electric cars increases we will need to build more power plants. Why not look at nuclear power? And let’s spend some time considering clean coal technology that is able to capture the CO2.

Second let’s deal with speculators. I am sure there are people smarter than me that have better ideas how to deal with speculators but we have to shut them down. Oil is the life blood of the world’s economies and we cannot allow speculators to play around with oil futures like it is a game of Monopoly. Oil is more than just a commodity. Oil plants seeds in the ground. Oil fertilizes the crop. Oil harvests it and takes it to market. Perhaps a law that required anyone purchasing oil to take delivery of it within 60 or 90 days would stop a lot of these speculators from buying what they cannot and never intend on taking delivery of.

Third lets deal with supply. Lifting the ban on oil drilling off shore and in ANWR would be a huge stimulus to our dragging economy. I am a contractor and have lost a few carpenters to the oil fields and offshore rigs. These are good paying jobs. While it may take a few years to get the oil to the market, many of the jobs would materialize right away. Just the promise of future supplies coming online will ease some of the tension in the market. We should also start a coal-to-oil and coal-to-gas program. Hitler was doing that seventy years ago. It is old technology and we have plenty of coal.

I am not a big fan of biofuels as I see it hurting the poor by driving up the price of food. It has driven up the price of corn, which has resulted in more farmers planting corn rather than other crops like wheat and rice. I know the ethanol lobby is strong in Washington and any major energy bill may have to give them a piece of the pie. Perhaps we can pass a law stating the same year no new personal, petroleum-only cars can be sold all gasoline must have at least 10% ethanol in it.

The conservatives want to drill more. The environmentalists want to get rid of the gasoline-driven cars. Congress should be able to come up with a bill that does both of those things and makes everyone happy. Please use your influence to take the partisanship out of this. I know it is an election year and both presidential candidates want to use this issue to win votes. It can’t wait until November. We need to act already.

Sincerely,

Shane P. Linder