Crapo: Next iTownhall To Focus On Energy

Washington, DC - Idaho Senator Mike Crapo will focus his next quarterly iTownHall meeting on energy issues and the effects that the escalating energy costs are having on Idahoans. The quarterly meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 9, 2008, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Mountain/5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Pacific. The technology behind the iTownhall meeting allows Idahoans to join in via telephone from any location in the state. Participation is voluntary, and listeners are invited to ask the Senator questions in the same fashion as they would during a townhall meeting.

"When I asked Idahoans to share with me stories on how high energy costs are affecting them, they responded tremendously with poignant examples," Crapo said. "With more than one thousand emails about energy, it is important that we keep this dialogue going. Congress must tackle this all-encompassing problem. It has delayed action for far too many years, and now our Idaho families, and all other Americans, are hurting every day in decisions about filling the gas tanks, purchasing food, participating in family events and many other activities that we may have taken for granted. As a member of the Senate Renewables and Energy Efficiency Caucus, I have long been advocating for a comprehensive approach to energy that integrates conservation methods into our lives, encourage renewable and alternative energy use, invest further in research and technology, as well as nuclear energy, and increase utilization of domestic energy resources. I look forward to the conversation in July during the iTownHall meeting, and know that this input will help me to push this issue forward with my colleagues in the U.S. Senate."

Crapo invites any Idahoans who are interested in learning more about the issues we are dealing with in the U.S. Senate to sign up for a call, which only requires logging onto his official website at http://crapo.senate.gov, clicking the iTownHall icon on the homepage and following the sign-up instructions.

Since November 2007, Crapo has been hosting quarterly iTownhall meetings as another opportunity to share their thoughts and concerns with him. Calls are placed to Idaho about ten minutes before the call is scheduled to begin, and participants are invited to ask questions throughout the hour. Audio files and transcripts of previous iTownhall meetings are available on Crapo's website.