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Energy secretary shifts blame from Biden on gas hikes, but vows he’ll invoke Defense Production Act

June 23, 2022 | | Print Article

As gas costs continue to crush the budgets of many Americans, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm stated that President Biden is willing to use all the tools at his disposal to lower the pain at the pumps — including potentially using the Defense Production Act.

Speaking at a White House press conference on Wednesday, Granholm pointed out that Biden isn’t alone in his struggle to lower fuel costs for his nation.

“President Biden, like all other leaders around the world, are grappling with this for their citizens,” she said. “And the president is doing everything he can to reduce prices for American families.”

As American Wire reported, the national price for a gallon of gas soared above $5 earlier this month, despite earlier claims by The Washington Post that $5 gas was only “a dubious meme.”

“The average price jumped $1.92 compared to this time last year,” according to Fox Business News.

Granholm listed several reasons for the record prices, including inflation and the Biden administration’s go-to explanation: Putin’s war on Ukraine.

“So we know that the war in Ukraine, having driven up the price of fuel… we’ve got to make up for the million barrels per day that we’ve lost,” she stated. “We will have a demand problem when China opens up, and there will be additional upward pressure on supply.”

But President Biden, says Granholm, can’t fix things on his own.

“The fact is that no president alone can control the price of gasoline and we need more players at the table,” she said, “So, the president’s asking Congress to act. He’s asking states to act. He’s asking the oil and gas industry to do their part as well.”

While the president’s call for Congress to suspend the roughly 18-cents-per-gallon tax on unleaded gas and approximately 24-cents-per-gallon on diesel through September is being touted by the administration as decisive action, some believe it’s nothing short of a “gimmick.”

“It’s meant to cover up the fact that Dem policies have restricted supply & raised costs,” tweeted Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ariz.).

Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, Granholm indicated that Biden is prepared to invoke the Defense Production Act if that’s what it takes to lower prices.

“Let’s just say the president is prepared to use all of his authorities to do what he can to increase supply,” she said.

Again, she stressed that high gas prices aren’t just an American problem. Of course, the implied meaning is, if it isn’t just an American problem, it can’t be just the fault of an American president.

“Of course, oil is traded on a global market,” she said. “This issue of supply is hitting every country around the world. Every country is paying high prices for gas. If you were in Singapore, you’d be paying $9.”

Melissa Fine
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