With the price of a barrel of oil having fallen about 30% since the spring, Biden said the price of gas at the pump should reflect that decline. The average gas price climbed to a high of around $5 over the summer and has since fallen closer to $3 a gallon, but prices started to rise again last month due to refinery outages in California and Ohio.
“My message to the oil companies is this: you are sitting on record profits. And we’re giving you more certainty so you can act now to increase oil production now,” Biden said.
Although he called for an increase in oil and gas production, the president maintained that these plans are in line with his administration’s promise to switch to clean energy. Biden said that by focusing on both oil and gas production and clean energy transition, “we can reduce energy costs” for consumers and “strengthen our national security at a very difficult time.”
He also called on Congress to pass a bill to accelerate the development of clean energy. Sen. Joe Manchin (DW.Va.) proposed such a bill last month as part of funding legislationbut it proved difficult to get it passed as it faced strong opposition from both sides.
“Right now, the approval process for clean energy projects is too cumbersome and time-consuming,” Biden said. “So I’m calling on Congress to pass a bill to expedite the approval of all kinds of power generation, from wind to solar to clean hydrogen. Because we need to get things moving. things now.
Biden’s pressure on oil companies and Congress in his Wednesday speech comes less than three weeks before the midterm elections, when gas prices and inflation are sure to weigh on the minds of voters. Asked by a reporter after the speech about his response to Republicans saying he’s only releasing oil from the reserve to help mid-term Democrats, Biden replied, “Where have they been for the past four months?”
The president also told reporters that the move was not politically motivated.
“It’s driven to make sure I keep pushing what I’ve been pushing, and it’s to make sure there’s enough oil that’s being pumped by the companies, so that we have the ability to be able to produce enough oil that we need here at home, and at the same time continue to move in the direction of providing alternative energy,” Biden said.