Democrats are attempting to save face with the public as elections are quickly approaching by placing blame for high gas prices on oil companies rather than their own policies despite inflation at a 40-year high.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer met Wednesday to discuss ways in which Congress might address rising prices at the pump, according to Bloomberg News.
Congressional Democrats have gone so far with blaming everyone except for themselves that they are considering legislation that would go after “price gouging”.
The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, out Friday, is estimated to have risen 6.7% in March from a year earlier. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $4.134, up from $2.885 a year ago, according to AAA.
Gas prices reached a record high this year with a national average of $4.33 per gallon on March 11.
Over the coming weeks, House Democrats plan to move forward with passing legislation to rein in skyrocketing gas prices. The out-of-control gas prices have become an increasingly bigger political liability for former vice president Joe Biden and Democrats across the country as they fight to keep control of the House as elections loom ahead.
“There is something deeply wrong, deeply wrong, about seeing the largest oil and gas companies in the world drench top executives and wealthy shareholders with cash while Americans are struggling at the pump,” Schumer said Monday on the Senate floor.
“Democrats are also discussing – and will consider – other potential action to beef up the FTC’s ability to crack down on price gouging in industries, including the oil industry. We will have more to say on this as the week progresses,” he said.
A number of Democratic lawmakers have proposed to suspend the federal gas tax, currently at 18.3 cents per gallon, to provide some relief. Except for Nancy Pelosi. Last month, before their long recess, she rejected the idea of suspending the federal gas tax. She even went so far as to warn that there’s no way to ensure that gas companies would pass the savings on to consumers.
“The pro is very showbiz. ‘OK, let’s just do something, there it is.’ But it is not necessarily landing in the pocket of the consumer,” Pelosi said at a press conference in the Capitol. “How do we help people directly? If you’re going to have to pay for it and you don’t want it to come out of the Trust Fund, something could be a rebate card or direct payments. And those are the things that are being considered.”
Democrats are also pointing fingers at the nation’s oil producers, urging them to drill on lands already approved for that purpose — a charge amplified by Jeffries on Wednesday.
“It would be a useful thing if the oil companies made a decision to actually lean in on the permits that they currently have to do something about the supply and demand challenges instead of being more concerned with rewarding their shareholders — lining their pockets to the detriment of everyday Americans and the American consumer,” Representative Hakeem Jeffries said. “But we’re going to act.”
API President and CEO Mike Sommers addressed the price surge on “America’s Newsroom,” highlighting how lawmakers have pivoted on American production.
“Their tune has certainly changed,” Sommers told co-host, Dana Perino. “And now they’re blaming those same executives for high prices. We all know that the real reason for high prices is a consequence… of low production because of some of these Biden administration policies, but also some other factors that are going on throughout the world.”
“This is exactly what they’ve asked for — for decades and decades — is higher gas prices to hasten the… renewable economy that they’ve been pursuing.”
“This is an industry of price takers, not price makers, and repeated in-depth investigations by the FTC have shown that changes in gasoline prices are based on market factors and not due to illegal behavior,” said API Senior Vice President of Policy, Economics and Regulatory Affairs Frank Macchiarola, API senior vice president of policy, economics, and regulatory affairs, said.
As the November elections quickly approach, remember everything that we have had to endure the past two years as Democrats have had control. Rising inflation. Skyrocketing gas prices. Locked in your homes because of a virus with a 99.998% survival rate. And daily meltdowns from leftists because you hurt their feelings.
Speak with your vote and let them know that we have had enough and will no longer tolerate their mismanagement of our country.
