AMAC Exclusive – By Andrew Abbott
On Monday, the national average price of gas jumped up, yet again, to $3.49 a gallon. This startling increase of $1.30 since last year has left many Americans spending an ever-increasing portion of their income on just their commute to and from work. To make matters worse, Biden’s Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm also told Americans this week that their energy bill will “be more expensive” this year, raising concerns that some low-income families may not be able to afford to heat their homes this winter. But when Granholm was asked directly if there is anything the administration can do to bring down these prices, she not only deflected any responsibility for the increase, but laughed loudly said “that’s hilarious…would that I had the magic wand on this.”
While it’s true the administration doesn’t have a magic wand, the increasing cost of energy is a direct result of the Biden administration’s policies, and they have all the power to lower costs — if they only had the will to do so.
Despite Granholm’s attempt to laugh off concerns about energy prices, her interviewers were unimpressed. One was visibly irritated at her multiple “laughing fits,” outright saying to her, “This isn’t funny.” She continued to deflect criticism by insisting that American gas prices are wholly at the mercy of the global oil market. She then blamed the crisis on “OPEC” and its allies for refusing to increase oil production – something that the Biden administration pleaded with foreign producers to do after cutting domestic production. Her interviewers were, again, unimpressed with this answer. When asked about limits on domestic drilling, she maintained that oil companies are “sitting on…oil leases” and intentionally not producing, to which her interviewers countered: “They won’t invest because this administration is speaking so highly of this energy transition that you’re actively supporting.”
Democrats have long been in denial about the relationship between public policy and energy prices. In 2008, for example, while Congress was considering opening up drilling in Alaska, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich argued that increasing the domestic supply of gas would bring down the overall cost. He also argued that an overreliance on foreign-produced gas was a tremendous national security liability and that the positive effects of increased domestic drilling would be felt almost immediately. Congressional Democrats disagreed.
In 2012, as he was waging his primary bid for the Republican presidential nomination, Gingrich went even further, stating that gas prices, then nearly $4 a gallon, could be reduced to $2.50 by investing in domestic oil production. In response, mainstream outlets pilloried him. The Atlantic wrote a condescendingly dismissive piece stating “Newt’s Right! We Really Could Have $2.50 Gas (for $190 Billion a Year).” The Obama administration outright accused him of “lying” and suggested that only a “depression” could bring gas prices down that low. On the campaign trail, Obama insisted “We can’t drill our way to lower gas prices.”
However, despite the opposition of the Obama-Biden administration, private domestic producers did begin increasing production. By 2014, gas prices had dropped below $2.50 a gallon as a direct result of increased oil production in the U.S., not a “depression.”
President Trump, recognizing the importance of domestic production to lower prices, made it a top priority of his administration to make the United States energy independent. As a result, gas prices consistently decreased throughout his tenure and reached an all-time low of $2.25 in 2020. The precipitous decline was a direct result of America’s increased oil production. Domestic production forced OPEC to drop prices to better compete with American oil.
Today, with Joe Biden in office, domestic oil production is not increasing in tandem with the increase in demand as a result of the end of the pandemic. Biden has made it explicitly clear from day one that, contrary to President Trump, he intends to eliminate all fossil fuel production in America. To that end, within two weeks of taking office, Biden signed an executive order that ended “oil and natural gas leases on public lands or in offshore waters.” In addition, it directed the Department of Energy to identify and “eliminate fossil fuel subsidies.” This was after he rescinded the Keystone XL pipeline’s permit just hours after his inauguration, effectively killing the project after years of investment. To the utter shock of seemingly no one outside the Biden administration and liberal media, gas prices skyrocketed.
While Biden continues to oppose domestic oil production, he has openly pleaded with OPEC to increase theirs. It appears Biden is hoping that while America and Europe invest in renewable energy, they can rely on imports from the Middle East and Russia to serve as a stopgap. In effect, Biden wants to have his cake and eat it too: he would kill the American oil industry and shift to renewables while relying heavily on foreign oil production. His administration seems unaware of their hypocrisy and that they are giving foreign powers tremendous leverage over the United States.
As gas prices continue to climb, the Biden administration says that it is “hopeful” that gas will not exceed $4 a gallon and heating bills will stay within reason. But when it comes to lowering costs, hope isn’t what is needed – action is. Biden has the ability to reverse course and once again set the country on the path of energy independence and affordable energy. But if Secretary Granholm’s comments are any guide, it is going to take another election before that happens.
Andrew Abbott is the pen name of a writer and public affairs consultant with over a decade of experience in DC at the intersection of politics and culture.
