CAES News
Grassroots Members Join CAES Leadership at News Conference
Share Individual Perspectives of the High Cost of U.S. Energy
WASHINGTON, DC -- In addition to John Engler, Jack N. Gerard, W. Henson Moore and Samantha Slater, the following individuals participated in the news conference held by the Consumer Alliance for Energy Security:
John Engler
President and CEO
National Association of Manufacturers
John Engler is president of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the former three-term Governor of Michigan. As NAM president, Engler is committed to educating the public and policymakers that manufacturing is critical to our future as a nation.
Under his leadership, the NAM advocates policies that seek to level the international playing field and reduce the cost of doing business at home. Prior to becoming Michigan's 46th Governor in 1991, Engler had served for 20 years in the State legislature, including seven years as State Senate Majority Leader. He graduated from Michigan State University and later earned a law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing.
W. Henson Moore
President & Chief Executive Officer
American Forest & Paper Association
W. Henson Moore is President & Chief Executive Officer of the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), a post he has held since 1995. Prior to joining AF&PA, he served as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy from 1989 to 1992, leaving the agency to become Deputy Chief of Staff for President George Bush. A native of Louisiana, Henson served six terms in the U.S. Congress where he sat on several key House Committees, including Energy, Agriculture, Budget, and Ways and Means. He holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in government and a law degree from Louisiana State University. AF&PA is the national trade association for the forest products industry representing more than 200 member companies and related associations.
Jack Gerard
President & Chief Executive Officer
American Chemistry Council
As President & CEO of ACC, Mr. Gerard is leading efforts to redefine the chemistry industry and strengthen its role in advocating public policy. Prior to joining ACC in July 2005, Mr. Gerard was President and CEO of the National Mining Association, where he streamlined operations, developed core competencies, merged two distinct cultures, modernized communications capabilities and built a national grassroots organization. Earlier in his career, Mr. Gerard was a founding partner, Chairman and CEO of McClure, Gerard & Neuenschwander, Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based government relations consulting firm. He and founding partner former U.S. Senator James McClure focused on issues including international sports, telecommunications, energy and mining. Prior to this, Mr. Gerard spent close to a decade working in the US Senate and US House of Representatives.
Samantha Slater
Director – Public Policy
National Corn Growers Association
"Growers rely on affordable natural gas as a feedstock for fertilizer, but also energy for irrigation, powering farm equipment, drying grain and producing ethanol," said Samantha Slater, Director of Public Policy, of the National Corn Growers Association. "Increased natural gas prices have already had an adverse effect on farmers due to higher production costs. This trend is expected to worsen in the future. Whether used directly as a feedstock or for heat and power generation, reasonably priced natural gas is essential to grower profitability. Our ability to be efficient and environmentally friendly corn producers will face huge obstacles if our nation cannot come to terms with its desire to have limitless resources, like natural gas, and not realize that these resources have to come from somewhere."
Samantha Slater is director of public policy at the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA). She is responsible for legislative and regulatory affairs concerning ethanol, the Clean Air Act, climate change, energy and economic analysis. In seven years with the Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA), Slater held several important policy positions. She began as a policy and research associate and worked her way to manager of state and regional affairs. Among her many duties at EPSA, Slater monitored all state regulatory and legislative activity related to the power industry, preparing comments and testimony and strategic planning for the legislative agenda.
Jeff Uhlenberg
President
Donovan Heat Treating Co., Inc
"My company and countless others are being put at risk by soaring energy prices by threatening my ability to remain competitive, hire and retain workers. I've seen a 300% increase in prices over the last 5 years, and the problem will only get worse unless Congress passes legislation that will open up domestic supply and ease the cost of doing business in the United States."
As President of Donovan Heat Treating Co. Inc, Jeffrey Uhlenberg is a strong advocate for manufacturing. His grandfather worked his entire life at US Steel in Pittsburgh and his father worked 15 years in the steel mills, until he bought Donovan Heat Treating Co. Inc 40-years ago. Mr. Uhlenberg is a Trustee on the Board of Metal Treating Institute (MTI) and a prior recipient of the MTI Presidential Award for Outstanding Service to our Industry. He is a graduate of Penn State, Villanova, and St. Mary's College in Maryland.
Aziz Asphahani
Chairman
Carus Corporation (Peru, IL)
"We are a small chemical company manufacturing products in the Illinois Valley. We are a family-owned company with 210 employees and have been in business for 90 years. Our major product, permanganate, is used in many industrial sectors. We also serve numerous municipalities that rely on our product to improve the quality of drinking water. We depend on natural gas in the manufacture of our products, and in the past five years the natural gas portion of our cost of manufacturing has more than doubled. As of this year, natural gas accounts for about 26 percent of the cost of making our product. This escalating cost of natural gas has drastically impacted our profitability. We are very concerned that if natural gas prices continue to increase or fluctuate, it will affect our ability to retain market share and will jeopardize our future in continuing to be a viable manufacturer in the Illinois Valley."
Aziz is Chairman of Carus Corporation, a family-owned chemical company in Peru, IL. He joined Carus Corporation as President and CEO in 1995. Previously, he held senior positions with Vallourec Industries. He holds eight patents and has authored 61 papers on high alloys and corrosion control. He is a winner of the 1984 Vaaler Award.
Greg Allen
Administration Manager
Cavendish Farms
Member, Jamestown (ND) School Board
Jamestown, ND
"I feel, on a daily basis, the high cost of energy, particularly the high cost of U.S. natural gas. At Cavendish Farms, we are continually forced into a juggling act because our natural gas supply can be curtailed, because we only receive an allotted amount. Our natural gas usage is approximately 7% of our total budget. We recently determined that a $1.00 dollar increase in the price of natural gas costs us $545,000, revenue that could be better spent on other parts of our operations, like efficiency. Moreover, we have been forced to retrofit our boilers to run propane or fuel oil, two sources that are expensive and less efficient to use. The Jamestown School district faces similar challenges. Because our supply can be curtailed, we are forced to use more expensive sources such as fuel oil. If we had greater certainty over our energy supply we would be able to run the system less expensively and use those funds for our students."
Greg is currently the Administration Manager for Cavendish Farms Since 1994, he has been a member of the Jamestown, ND School Board, serving as President since 2004.
Randy Bowen
Pulp and Paperworkers' Resource Council
Bastrop, LA
"These high energy prices are really threatening our ability to compete overseas," said Randy Bowen, a paperworker from Bastrop, Louisiana representing the Pulp and Paperworkers' Resource council, a national organization of forest products industry employees. "Our industry has lost 189,000 jobs since natural gas prices started shooting up six years ago, and none of my colleagues want to be next. Congress should act now to put more American natural gas to work protecting American jobs."
Randy Bowen is representing the Pulp and Paperworkers' Resource Council (PPRC). He is the National Recording Secretary for the PPRC and the Director of the Southern Pine Region. He is with the International Paper Company mill in Bastrop, Louisiana. Mr. Bowen is with USW Local 13-0360.
Bill Northey
Spirit Lake, IA
"Farmers throughout Iowa have been really hurt by the high cost of fertilizer. Some are even choosing to switch some of their acreage from corn to soybeans because of the high price of nitrogen fertilizer needed to grow corn. This puts hardworking growers at a real disadvantage when we seek to compete in the global marketplace. We need natural gas prices to fall so we can regain our competitiveness."
Bill Northey is a soybean farmer from Spirit Lake, Iowa. Bill is a fourth-generation Iowa farmer. He returned to Spirit Lake to farm with his grandfather, Sid Northey, after graduating from Iowa State University in 1981. Bill uses reduced tillage, GPS, grid soil sampling and identity preserved production on his farm. Bill is a Dickinson County Soil and Water Conservation District Commissioner and been active in Farm Bureau at the county level.
Delayne Johnson
Manager, Galva Holstein Ag., LLC
Galva, IA
Delayne Johnson is a Manager of Galva Holstein Ag, LLC and sits on the Board of Directors for the Quad County Corn Producers.
Joyce Krawiec
J&R Ventures
Kernersville, N.C.
Joyce is a successful business woman from Winston-Salem, NC. She and her husband have a commercial real estate development company (J & R Ventures). They develop shopping malls throughout the region. Joyce and her husband are concerned for their tenants as the price of natural gas increases.
William Penn
Energy Links, Inc.
Butte, MT
Bill Penn is currently President of Energy Links, Inc. Energy Links works to provide energy services to coal fired power projects in Montana; Renewable Energy Certificate Trading for a wind project in California,; energy service technology for the commercial retail market segment to lower energy consumption; and generation for bio-mass generation projects. He has spent his entire career in the energy business, part of it as a trader, and is concerned about the current imbalance between domestic supply and demand for natural gas and the impact it has on people who live on fixed income.
Charona Remillard
Winston Salem, NC
Charona is a grassroots activist who serves as Republican Chairman for the 12th District of North Carolina and Secretary for the Forsyth County Republican Party. She has worked on many consumer issues such tax policies, Social Security reform and other economic issues.
Rod Funderburk
Columbia, SC
For 33 years, Rod worked with Allied Signal/Honeywell. When he finished his career, he was buying energy for 56 plants. He is currently buying energy for a school district and a college in the Columbia area.