Since day one in office, President Biden and his administration have been at war with American energy. Less than a year into his presidency, we are already feeling the negative effects of his policies at the pump, on our heating bills, and on the prices of virtually all consumer goods. As we rebound from the pandemic and Americans are getting back out and traveling more, fuel prices are steadily increasing, with no end in sight. On average, fuel is more than a dollar a gallon higher than it was this time a year ago.
While there are many factors contributing to the sharp rise in fuel prices, President Biden’s war on American energy has made the crisis even worse. By shutting down safe, reliable American pipelines and killing American energy jobs, President Biden has hampered American energy production and forced us to rely on foreign energy producers and OPEC.
In addition to shutting down the Keystone XL pipeline, President Biden in January declared a moratorium on new offshore oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico. Not only does offshore drilling boost American energy production, but also Alabama benefits greatly from revenues received through the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (GOMESA). These funds are critical to South Alabama and are used for projects like boat ramps, hurricane protection, shoreline restoration, bike trails, and nature park enhancements. This year alone, Alabama is benefitting from $41 million in GOMESA funds.
Since January, many of my colleagues and I have been fighting back on the president’s terrible energy policies. As we see energy prices continue to rise, it’s critically important for the President to unleash American energy production, which is clean, safe and reliable, plus keeps us from relying on unstable foreign energy production. Instead of doing this, however, President Biden is distracting from the crisis he is responsible for by blaming it on everyone but himself. He is now demanding the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigate whether oil and gas companies are engaging in “illegal conduct” by keeping gas prices high.
The bottom line is this: President Biden’s crusade against American fossil fuels has contributed greatly to a massive spike in prices at the pump. Additionally, with the recent passage of the so-called “Build Back Better Act,” and the unprecedented increase in money supply to pay for this borrowed money, my fear is we have only just begun to see the effects of inflation across all markets. Americans are feeling the squeeze at the pumps, so it’s way past time for President Biden to quit shifting the blame and get serious about unleashing American energy production so we can get fuel prices back under control.
Jerry Carl represents Alabama’s First Congressional District. He lives in Mobile with his wife Tina.
