Biden, Democrats to Blame for Rising Gas Prices

Gas prices are soaring as some areas of the country set new record highs, angering voters and fueling inflation. Democrats are desperate to avoid the political fallout of their war on American energy and are now “scrambling” to find scapegoats.

Washington Post: As prices at the pump trend up nationwide, the Biden administration is scrambling to shelter Democrats from consumer frustration, laying blame on oil company opportunism and threatening new restrictions on the industry.

In public comments and private meetings with oil executives, administration officials are warning that the White House could take extraordinary — and potentially economically risky — steps to bring costs down if the companies do not move more aggressively to shield Americans from price spikes. The renewed attention on the cost of fuel comes as gas prices have jumped in recent days by as much as 60 cents per gallon in some regions, posing a political challenge for Democrats.

The rising prices are partly caused by Democrats’ energy policies, designed to throttle domestic energy production. New federal oil leases have “slowed to a trickle” since Joe Biden took office. The Biden-Harris administration leased just 126,000 acres for drilling through their first 19 months in office — the fewest since President Harry Truman in 1945-46. The leases have historically been a “go-to asset” for raising domestic energy production. New analysis confirms that Democrats’ war on American energy substantially reduced the nation’s energy output.

WSJ Editorial: A new study by the Committee to Unleash Prosperity estimates that the U.S. would be producing between two and three million more barrels of oil a day and between 20 and 25 more billion cubic feet of natural gas if the Trump Administration’s policies had continued. Economists Casey Mulligan and Steve Moore say the Biden Administration’s anti-oil-and-gas policies are costing the U.S. economy $100 billion a year. . .

The Biden policies have created substantial regulatory uncertainty, raised production costs, and directed capital to green energy.

If gasoline prices rise before the November election, the Administration has its own policies to blame.

Biden and congressional Democrats — who were taking credit for gas prices just weeks ago — have few options to meaningfully reduce prices before Election Day. They have already drained 200 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, OPEC+ is poised to reduce output — despite desperate pleas from the White House — and banning oil exports would be economically risky.

Bottom Line: Democrats’ war on American energy is to blame for higher gas prices.