I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of paying five dollars per gallon for gas. The Biden administration has tried to dodge blame by claiming it’s Putin‘s fault, or it’s big oil’s fault. And yes, some of the blame is theirs, but most of it is on the guy who stares back in the mirror when Biden shaves each morning.
After all, Biden is the guy who campaigned on weaning us from dependence on evil “fossil fuels” and promising the pie-in-the-sky benefits of the Green New Deal. Well, the chickens have come home to roost, and we are all paying the high price of Biden’s adopting the climate religion of The Left. AOC and Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders got what they wanted.
The previous administration had essentially gotten us to the long-sought-after point of energy independence. We were actually exporters of oil and gas, rather than being dependent upon the oil cartel countries.
Then Biden got elected. And reversed everything. (Just as he did with the progress the Trump administration had made at the southern border.)
On day one, Biden canceled the Keystone XL pipeline. Of course he allowed Russia to strengthen its control over European energy by okaying the Nord Stream Two pipeline. He stopped any new leases in ANWAR (the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge) in Alaska. He put the kibosh on any new gas or oil leases on federal lands or water. And he ramped up excessive regulations on anyone who wanted to build a pipeline or refinery in this country.
As a direct result of these Biden administration policies, oil production in the US dropped by approximately a half million barrels per day. And when you produce less of something, the price goes up.
That’s the real reason we are paying exorbitant prices today when we fill up at the pump. It is absolutely Biden’s fault. And most infuriatingly, it was intentional.
It’s what Biden, and the Libs, and Democrats have wanted all along. They want to make oil and gas, the dreaded “fossil fuels”, so expensive, that they drive us out of the kinds of automobiles we’ve driven for a century now, and into electric vehicles. They have little or no concern that such vehicles are very expensive, that long distance travel by such means is exceedingly problematic, that the US infrastructure is nowhere near ready to handle large numbers of electric cars, or that the energy at the other end of the cord used to recharge these electric vehicles, is likely coming from a coal or oil or natural gas or nuclear fired plant.
And while I’m on the subject of high gas prices, let me mention a piece of legislation I’ve been working on for many years now. I’m happy to say that we may finally be getting close to passing it. It’s called NOPEC, which stands for No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act. I originally introduced this legislation many years back along with the late Democratic congressman from Michigan, John Conyers. I’ve introduced it this Congress along with Rhode Island Democratic congressman David Cicilline.
For years now, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states, Venezuela, and allies like Russia, have colluded to keep oil off the market, and keep prices artificially high. This is in direct violation of US antitrust laws. NOPEC would give The US Attorney General the right to file suit against OPEC, the international oil cartel, for their predatory, anti-trust behavior. This would help bring gas prices down. Of course I would also like to see the Biden administration reverse their anti-energy-producing policies.
People are sometimes surprised that I work with Democrats in Congress, since I’m a Republican. I’ve always felt that even if we disagreed on 90%, maybe 99%, of the matters we deal with in Congress, we ought to work together on the things we do agree on.
That’s probably why when the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt released three studies over the last 10 years they’ve done on who are the most effective Members of Congress, I’ve come in in the top 10 most effective Republican Members in all three studies.
My commitment to finding common ground with colleagues regardless of party was probably instilled in me from my early days in politics when I served on Cincinnati City Council. First elected in 1985, I was one of three Republicans who joined with two Democrats to form a coalition to move the city forward. It worked back then, and I think it still can today.
It’s my belief that a Member of Congress should do everything within his or her power to represent to the best of their ability the people of their congressional district, and the people of the United States. Regardless of party labels.
See you next week. Hope you and your family had a great 4th!