Today Tom Udall was in Albuquerque meeting with New Mexicans affected by rising gas prices, including individuals from education, law enforcement, a local charity program, an Albuquerque working mother, postal workers, and more. He met them for a roundtable discussion at Ever-Ready Oil Co. to hear their concerns and discuss the causes, effects, and possible solutions for skyrocketing fuel costs.

It was an eyeopening experience. They told their personal stories about the various ways prices at the pump forced them to alter their lifestyles, such as having to scale back on taking their children to extracurricular activities. They also spoke about the ways it effected other aspects of our lives on a grander scale, such as the rising cost of busing children to school cutting into other educational programs (especially in rural New Mexico where bus rides can be a half an hour or more each way) and a hiring freeze on new postal workers causing mail to arrive late.

After patiently listening to their concerns, Tom gave them a bit of straight talk: There was no easy fix for rising fuel costs. But that didn't mean there was nothing we could do about the problem in both the short and the long term. In the short term, we could put in place laws to make sure we were cracking down on price gouging and speculation.

In the long term, we need to provide alternative energy solutions that include a mix of responsible drilling for oil, solar, wind, etc. He stated that he'd like to see New Mexico become 'the Saudi Arabia of wind power'. He also warned against 'gimmicks' such as the so called gas tax holiday, which the Congressman said would save the average New Mexican approximately a tank of gas over six months while depriving our economy of transportation money desperately needed for new roads and expanded mass public transportation.

The participants were glad to hear him address their concerns, and seemed to walk away with a sense that Tom really did feel their pain and would work hard to help ease the financial burdens of rising fuel costs.

Tom will do what is right for New Mexicans like those at the event, not support billion dollar tax breaks for Big Oil or let hedge fund speculators run rampant.

Those in attendance included:

Gloria Hawk- volunteer at Meals on Wheels
Sara Attleson – librarian at Kennedy Middle School
Richard “Smiley” Martinez – National Association of Letter Carriers
Susie Romero – USPS, Santa Fe letter carrier
Charles Ochs – President, Owner of Ever-Ready Oil (ERO) Co.
Jennifer Gonzales – Albuquerque resident, mother of two
Dorothy Cole – Albuquerque resident