As people prepare to embark on slightly more expensive trips to grandma’s for Thanksgiving, President Joe Biden criticized oil and gas companies for high prices at the pump in a speech at the White House.
“If the gap between wholesale and retail gas prices was in line with past averages, Americans would be paying at least 25 cents less per gallon right now,” Biden said. “Instead, companies are pocketing the difference as profit. That’s unacceptable.”
BIDEN FORFEITS ‘ABILITY TO SCAPEGOAT POWELL’ WITH FED PICK, LIBERALS SAY
The president has taken two actions over the last week aimed at bringing down those prices, which are averaging $3.40 per gallon nationwide. First, he called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate oil and gas companies for high prices, citing a gap between what the major companies pay and what consumers pay.
Biden is also releasing 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and the White House said the release would be accompanied by similar releases from other countries, including China, India, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. The release is the largest ever, he said. However, Biden previously downplayed the idea, saying in October that opening the reserve would reduce the price of gas “maybe 18 cents or so a gallon. It’s still going to be above $3.”
He noted that prices are even higher abroad, with $7 a gallon in France and $5.50 a gallon in Japan.
“Gas supply companies are paying less and making a lot more, and they do not seem to be passing that on to consumers at the pump,” Biden said.
It’s a myth that inflated gas prices are due to environmental measures, Biden said, adding that electric cars can save up to $1,000 per year on fuel costs and that the transition to clean energy will create jobs.
Most of the president’s roughly 10-minute speech struck a more upbeat tone as he noted how grocery stores and big-box retail outlets are stocked up for Thanksgiving and Black Friday, from turkey to bicycles and ice skates.
Biden has been criticized for not doing enough to boost energy production while also pursuing a spending agenda that Republicans and others have denounced as inflationary.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“The fact is that America has a lot to be proud of. We’re experiencing the strongest economic recovery in the world,” Biden said. “Even after accounting for inflation, our economy is bigger and our families have more money in their pockets than they did before the pandemic.”
Biden exited for a service project at D.C. Central Kitchen without taking questions from reporters.
