The Biden administration is pushing the energy red button in a desperate attempt to lower gas prices, and experts are concerned about the ...
The Biden administration is pushing the energy red button in a desperate attempt to lower gas prices, and experts are concerned about the consequences.
Fifty million barrels of oil will be released from the United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which would in essence increase supply and presumably lower prices — at least, according to the White House.
Eighteen million of those barrels were already bought by Congress, and 32 million are intended to be returned in the coming years, according to Fox Business.
The reserve, which is comprised of four sites along the Gulf of Mexico, is intended for emergencies and gas shortages, meaning situations only where it would be difficult to have access to gasoline.
Right now, the issue has little to do with access and everything to do with pricing.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute Senior Vice President Christopher Guith slammed the administration’s choice to tap into the reserves and blamed poor policy for high prices at the pump.
“America’s real strategic petroleum reserve is in places like the Permian Basin and the Gulf of Mexico. The Department of Energy’s reserve should only be used for supply disruptions,” he said in a statement.
“Instead of ineffectual band aids, the White House should focus on policies that will encourage domestic production of oil and natural gas. Rather, all the Administration has done is threaten energy production on federal lands, cancel pipelines and beg Saudi Arabia and Russia for more oil.”
However, the White House insists that this was the right decision.
“The President stands ready to take additional action, if needed, and is prepared to use his full authorities working in coordination with the rest of the world to maintain adequate supply as we exit the pandemic,” the White House said in a statement.
President Joe Biden himself argued that his environmental efforts had nothing to do with the current energy problems.
“My effort to combat climate change is not raising the price of gas,” Biden said Tuesday.
The national average price for a gallon of gas is a whopping $3.40 as of Tuesday, according to AAA, and Americans are feeling the pain in their wallets.
While this move will hinder the nation’s emergency stockpile of oil, the reality of the situation is that Americans probably will not notice much of a difference.
Biden’s team is now getting desperate to fix the situation they instigated by halting federal oil and gas leases on day one, and not putting nearly enough pressure on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to pump more oil in the Middle East.
Prices have been climbing higher across the board, with U.S. consumer prices increasing 6.2 percent over the past year, according to PBS.
48.3 million Americans are planning on traveling via automobile this Thanksgiving, according to AAA, and many of those folks will feel the financial burden of just wanting to see their loved ones.
No comments