CAES News
Remarks by Jack N. Gerard President and CEO, American Chemistry Council
Good morning and thank you, Governor Engler.
We indeed have a crisis on our hands. Every single American is feeling the pain of high energy prices. Having just been through the warmest winter on record, consumers' heating bills are still up an average 23 percent this year for natural gas and 24 percent for oil, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Congress recently approved $1 billion in additional funding for states for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program to meet urgent needs. Schools, hospitals, churches and small businesses across the country are struggling with sharply higher energy costs. At Loudoun County Public Schools, just 25 miles from here, they are seeing a 47 percent increase in energy costs from fiscal year 2005 to 2006. This change will lead to a budget shortfall in natural gas alone of $537,000. That shortfall is equal to salary and all other costs, including health insurance for 7.6 classroom teachers.
The impact of the energy crisis on America's manufacturing and industrial base, its farmers and its workers has been staggering: billions in lost business, 2.9 million lost manufacturing jobs, more than 100,000 chemical industry jobs lost and 100 chemical facilities closed, 182,000 forest and paper industry jobs lost and 232 mills closed, 36 percent of the fertilizer industry shut down or mothballed. Aluminum, plastics, sleep products, bricks, soap and detergents, plastics...the list goes on and on. You will hear some of these stories this morning.
It's clear that America's competitiveness, jobs and economic growth are at risk. The question now is, will Congress at last take action on one of the most important issues facing our nation?