As it stands, they’re doing neither, which directly contributes to a volatile market and skyrocketing gas prices.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Thursday it is still working to end reliance on fossil fuels despite high gas prices crimping paychecks and fueling inflation to a 41-year high.
President Joe Biden has a stated goal of cutting economywide emissions 50%-52% by 2030 by reducing the use of fossil fuels and promoting green energy sources such as wind and solar. He also wants to see half of all new vehicles sold running solely on electricity by that date.
In the meantime, a gallon of gas has tipped over $5 on average for the first time in U.S. history while Biden is tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, allowing 15% ethanol fuel to be sold this summer, and calling on Congress to approve “use it or lose it” legislation to force oil and gas companies to drill on their federal land leases.
The two are not in conflict, said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
“No,” she said when asked if Biden was no longer trying to end reliance on fossil fuels. “We are going to continue to move forward with our clean energy proposals and our climate change proposals.”
The reporter, Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy, then asked if climate change was now taking priority over gas prices.
Doocy: "Is his priority lowering gas prices or is it addressing climate change?"
Karine Jean-Pierre: "First of all, we–it's–you can do both at the same time. What we're trying to deal for…is how to lower costs…[Oil companies] are using this moment…to make a profit." pic.twitter.com/AkR3mWk95r
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) June 16, 2022
Jean-Pierre’s comments come after Biden sent letters to seven large integrated refinery operators on Wednesday saying their profits are “not acceptable” and threatening to use emergency powers to increase refinery capacity.
It still hasn’t occurred to anyone in the Biden administration that the U.S. is fully capable of maintaining its own energy independence if only Joe would resume construction on the Keystone XL Pipeline, reduce regulations, and end the lengthy permit procedures for major oil companies.
When asked why the Biden administration doesn’t allow more drilling in the United States, Jean-Pierre claimed “we didn’t need to do that” before again blaming oil companies for not increasing capacity.
Jen Psaki’s replacement also failed to explain why depleting America’s oil reserves had zero impact on the price per gallon.
Doocy on the hundreds of millions of barrels of oil released from SPR: "How much has that lowered [gas] prices?"
KJP: "Here's the thing–here's the thing, Peter. If we–if the President had not taken the actions that he's taken…the prices that we see now would be a lot worse." pic.twitter.com/U1gFB5gHqv
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) June 16, 2022
It’s truly a cluster f*** at Biden’s White House!
Author:Â Sebastian Hayworth
