Biden administration tries to drive down gas prices

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - Concerns over rising gas prices are now demanding some action.

Tuesday, the Biden Administration announced a plan to help drive down how much people are paying at the pump by authorizing use of 50 million barrels of oil from the nation’s petroleum reserve.

The U.S. consumed about 21 million barrels of oil a day in September, so this release would be used up in less than three days at that rate.

The Gray Television Washington News Bureau asked Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm about the plan.

Granholm said, “What we did today in releasing this amount, it means that over the next few weeks we will see an increase in supply and therefore the prices should stabilize. Right now, the reason why we’re seeing these high prices is because demand is much higher than supply of oil and gas, and so we’re trying to correct that imbalance.”

Democrats on Capitol Hill praised the move to ease the financial burden on middle class families.

We saw critical statements from Republicans like Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.).

“President Biden’s policies are hiking inflation and energy prices for the American people. Tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve will not fix the problem. We are experiencing higher prices because the administration and Democrats in Congress are waging a war on American energy. President Biden has either eliminated or severely restricted access to America’s oil and natural gas resources on federal lands and waters. At the urging of Democrats and environmental activists the investment banking industry has also withheld capital from companies looking to produce U.S. oil and natural gas. Begging OPEC and Russia to increase production and now using the Strategic Petroleum Reserve are desperate attempts to address a Biden-caused disaster. They’re not substitutes for American energy production.”
Sen. John Barasso (R-Wyo.)

Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) even publicly opposed this move.

“The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is supposed be used during genuine national emergencies not as a mechanism to reduce the price of gasoline. If the Biden Administration wants to lower gasoline prices, it should end its war on the American oil and gas industry. It could do so by reversing its decision to limit new exploration and production on federal lands and authorizing construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. The Trump Administration showed that when domestic production of oil and gas is encouraged, robust economic growth and low gasoline prices can also exist simultaneously. The high prices Americans are paying at the pump are directly attributable to the Biden Administration’s decision to punish the domestic oil and gas industry. That is exactly the wrong approach. In the end, all it does is raise energy costs all Americans are forced to pay, contribute to rapidly rising inflation and make the United States dangerously dependent on foreign countries and producers for its energy needs.”
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.)

Granholm responded to the criticism and said, “The president’s policies have nothing to do with gas prices. As you see today, it is solely oil on a global market. Countries all around the world are seeing the same phenomenon, which is why a number of countries that have also strategic petroleum reserves are going to release some of their supply as well to bring down prices. So those arguments are simply not true.”

Granholm said fuel from the reserve will begin moving into the marketplace in the next few weeks. She said it’s not exactly known how far prices at the pump will fall by Christmas.

The United Kingdom, India, China, South Korea, and Japan have all also agreed to release parts of their own petroleum reserves to try and bring prices down globally.

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