President Joe Biden accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of committing genocide in Ukraine for the first time during an event in Iowa aimed at underscoring actions he is taking to lower gas prices.
“Your family budget, your ability to fill up your tank — none of it should hinge on whether a dictator declares war and commits genocide a half a world away,” Biden said Tuesday.
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Biden avoided calling Putin’s invasion of Ukraine a genocide last week after Russia’s withdrawal from cities such as Bucha revealed brutal murders of civilians.
Biden clarified his comments later Tuesday, saying “it’s become clearer and clearer that Putin is trying to wipe out the idea of being Ukrainian.”
“The evidence is mounting. It looks different than last week,” he said. “More evidence is coming out literally of the horrible things that the Russians have done in Ukraine.”
“We’re going to only learn more and more about the devastation,” he added. “We’ll let the lawyers decide internationally whether or not it qualifies, but it sure seems that way to me.”
On Tuesday, Biden was introduced by Rachel Connor, a grain merchandiser at the POET bioprocessing facility in Menlo. Connor also pinned March’s record year-on-year inflation of 8.5% on Putin despite price increases preceding the war.
“Today, America is battling Putin’s price hike,” she said. “Mr. President, I can tell you our nation’s entire biofuels industry stands ready to help.”
Biden announced Tuesday that the Environmental Protection Agency was issuing a national emergency waiver so E15 gasoline, which is made from a 15% ethanol blend, can be used this summer between June 1 and Sept. 15 at roughly 2,300 gas stations across the country.
The policy represents Biden’s latest stance on ethanol, both plant- and corn-based, related mandates, as well as tax credits and subsidies. For example, Biden was described as “instrumental” in then-President Barack Obama’s blending cuts push to help strained East Coast oil companies. He went on to campaign on a $400 billion investment into clean energy research, innovation, and deployment as a way to promote ethanol and other biofuels in 2020.
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“Doubling down on these liquid fuels of the future will not only make value-added agriculture a key part of the solution to climate change — reducing emissions in planes, ships, and other forms of transportation — but will also create quality jobs across rural America,” his campaign said at the time.
