Logistics Management

ALERT – THE VILLAGES ARE CALLING, THEY’RE MSSING THEIR IDIOTS

Fortunately, we’ve located most of them; they’re serving in the Congress and Senate!

If you ever needed proof of just how inept our Federal government has become, you need look no further than how our politicians have created and mismanaged the energy crisis we face as a Nation. With the price of gas over $4, and the price of diesel hovering at around $4.65 per gallon, and probably heading higher, you’d think that our political office holders would be motivated to find a solution that helped Americans. 

But instead of working on solutions, the Village idiots are on the loose and putting their political interests ahead of their duty to our country. Want some proof?  The village of Nevada called looking for their idiot. We didn’t have to look too far to find Harry Reid, masquerading as the leader of the Senate. In response to questions about what the Senate is doing about the energy crisis Senator Reis responded that “coal and oil make people sick” and that we have to find alternatives to fossil fuels. 

The village of New York called looking for their idiot. Step forward and take a bow Maurice Hinchey (D-NY). In his editorial in the Washington Examiner, he called for the federal government to seize control of oil companies. I wish I were kidding, but Rep. Hinchey said, “We [the government] should own the refineries. Then we can control how much gets out into the market.”

When the village of California called looking for their idiot we had a problem: Too many contenders. After careful deliberation we gave the prize to Maxine Waters (D-CA). During the House’s hearing on the energy crisis, she told the nation and oil industry executives: “Guess what this liberal (referring to herself) will be about? This liberal will be all about socializing - um, uh … will be about … basically … taking over, and the government running all of your companies.” Given the government’s “Midas Touch” in running anything resembling a business, you’d think that Rep. Waters would want to wait a bit until the government has taken over the health care industry and solved the health care crisis.

And for all you Democrats out there, relax, we can blame the Administration for standing by while the dollar gets trashed, thus driving the price of oil significantly higher, and until recently, continuing to increase the oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. There, are you happy?  

Since the Congress appears to be completely lost on how to get us out of this crisis, perhaps they will consider the ‘Mike Regan Energy Solution Plan’. It includes conservation, exploration and the development of alternative power sources.

First, Congress should enact, and the states enforce, a 60 mph speed limit. YRC announced that they were putting governors on their trucks because each 1 MPH over 62 MPH represented a 2% fuel savings. They consume 300 million gallons per year, so that’s 6 million gallons of diesel – and that is just one company. For consumers, the move to reduce speed limit to 60 mph would save 2% to 3% each year. Total savings exceed over 1 billion gallons of gas.  

Second, Congress should pass legislation introduced by Senator Collins that would allow for an increase in the weight of trucks to 100,000 pounds (from 80,000) when the price of diesel exceeds $3.50 per gallon. As the past Chairman of ASET, this subject is near and dear to my heart. (You can safely increase the weight of truckload shipments on properly configured trailers and save in excess of 1 Billion gallons of diesel annually.)

Third, the President should announce the immediate drawdown of 250 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (the SPR has the capacity to hold 727 million barrels). This will begin to address the impact of speculation on the market. 

If the people in Washington had any guts, these first three steps could happen immediately. Longer term, Congress should encourage drilling and exploration in areas where there is oil to be found. In response to the argument that millions of acres are already leased but untouched, the auction process should favor those oil companies who have the best track record for drilling on the acreage currently leased. That is why I am a supporter of the “Drill Now – Save Money” campaign that American Solutions launched.

With respect to alternative energy, the CEO of a major power utility told me that the United States will never solve the energy crisis unless there is a serious debate and commitment to the benefits of nuclear power. At a minimum, Congress should consider a nuclear energy program that is modeled after the plans that are in Europe, which has 45% of the world’s current nuclear facilities, and hosts 197 nuclear power plants. It’s clean, it’s safe, and the Europeans are proving that nuclear waste can be disposed of harmlessly.

Recently I read an article about our country’s founders and the courage, guts, and sacrifices they demonstrated in order to declare their independence in 1776. What would they think of those politicians who put special interests and money ahead of the welfare of this country? What would they think of the morass that today represents the Senate and Congress? It is my hope that every time an American pulls up to the gas pump, they thank our politicians for the prices we’re paying. So let’s do the villages a favor: Send their idiots home.

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