Souder Calls RV Probe an ‘Embarrassment’

By Rod Rowe, Goshen News, Ind.

Jun. 17–The Indiana RV industry is under attack and will be in the spotlight of a Senate hearing in July as the industry undergoes “a demogogic campaign,” said U.S. Rep. Mark Souder, R-Fort Wayne.

Rep. Souder spoke Monday to the Elkhart Rotary Club before meeting with local RV industry leaders.

The U.S. Senate probe of three or four Indiana RV companies that made travel trailers for temporary housing for victims of the Katrina hurricane in Louisiana will take place to try to show profiteering by the RV makers, Souder explained.

He defended the industrial output of Indiana and Elkhart County, pointing out that the “3rd District is number one in manufacturing. What we do here is make things and grows things around it,” he said, commenting on agricultural output, too.

Souder blamed overambitious attorneys for filing suit in the Louisiana case and complaining about formaldehyde in the new trailers.

“What were the number of complaints before Katrina? Three to five,” Souder said. He said there were 20,000 of the trailers sent to Florida to house victims earlier and no complaints.

But after the Katrina hurricane, “all of a sudden you have lawsuits.”

Actions have consequences, Souder said. He explained he recently met with representatives of eight RV firms at his Goshen office.

“When are the facts going to catch up with the debate? It is an embarrassment to Congress and a political agenda to destroy an industry,” Souder said.

He commented further on the auto industry’s need to support the RV industry. He pointed out that large motorhomes need big engines to power them, and there are not enough engines being produced now.

“You will see a scaling down of motorhomes,” he predicted.

He went on to comment on tow vehicles, as 75 percent of RVs made are towable. He said manufacturers may decrease the number of tow vehicles made, further impacting the industry.

Energy bills

Souder blasted Democrats in Congress for their lack of action on energy bills. He said the cost of oil is being driven up by speculation, and that speculation is based on the inaction of the U.S. government to take drastic measures.

“We’ve tried to pass drilling bills,” Souder said, but Republicans are unsuccessful in getting measures passed to allow oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and near the Artic Circle, where there are vast oil fields.

Souder pointed out that there have been 6,200 new oil wells drilled during the eight years of the Bush administration, but they have been in western states such as Colorado and Wyoming and not in the Gulf.

China is doing “slant drilling” to obtain crude oil, but the U.S. is not obtaining oil in this method, he pointed out.

The U.S. energy bill does not address coal or support nuclear power plants or corn-based ethanol, he charged.

“We need seven new power plants, but they take 10 years to build,” he stressed. And to take advantage of electric cars and hydrogen powered vehicles, drivers will need more electricity.

In Indiana, 90 percent of electricity is generated with coal. Industry will not finance the construction of more plants if investors are afraid that Congress will ban them, Souder said.

Souder said Indiana needs the BP Whiting refinery expansion and a new pipeline from Canada to bring oil here.

He pointed out that gasoline is $8 per gallon in Europe. The question is “what is the top here?”

“Unless we get control of energy, we’re in trouble. We are at loggerheads over who is to blame,” Souder said. “It is frustrating that every attempt to address it is thwarted.

“We are sending a signal to the world that we’re not doing anything,” Souder said, which he claimed then results in the speculation in the markets.

Souder went on to praise experiments such as the practices at Merry Lea Center at Wolf Lake and a water recycling project in Fort Wayne.

“Everybody should be looking at conservation,” Sounder said.

He added that the federal government is also trying to fund alternative energy projects.

“We’re throwing money at every possibility,” Souder concluded.

In another issue, Souder explained he is holding press conferences in the district to explain he will file a bill to increase the mileage payment to veterans assistance from the current 24 cents per mile to the 54 cents received by other government employees.

“It’s only the minimum we can do for these people who served,” Souder said.

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