{"id":138604,"date":"2022-03-31T21:13:28","date_gmt":"2022-04-01T04:13:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=138604"},"modified":"2022-03-31T21:13:28","modified_gmt":"2022-04-01T04:13:28","slug":"president-biden-on-actions-to-lower-gas-prices-at-the-pump-for-american-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=138604","title":{"rendered":"President Biden on Actions to Lower Gas Prices at the Pump for American Families"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Good afternoon.  As I said in my State of the Union Address, I\u2019m going to always be honest with the American people.  Today, I want to talk with you about the costs here at home of Putin\u2019s decision to brutally and savagely invade a sovereign nation.  The fact is, he\u2019s causing thousands of deaths and untold destruction.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CVPArfBfjmM\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Working with our NATO Allies and our European partners and beyond that, we \u2014 we\u2019re responding.  We\u2019re aiding the Ukrainian people both economically and militarily while levying the most punishing economic sanctions against Russia ever used against another nation in place and increasing them.<\/p>\n<p>Thus far, these actions are crippling Russia\u2019s economy, isolating Putin from the world, and helping Ukrainians fight for their country and ease their suffering.<\/p>\n<p>But as I\u2019ve said from the start, Putin\u2019s war is imposing a cost on America and our allies and democracies around the world.<\/p>\n<p>Today, I want to talk about one aspect of Putin\u2019s war that affects and has real effects on the American people: Putin\u2019s price hike that Americans and our allies are feeling at the pump. <\/p>\n<p>I know how much it hurts.  As you\u2019ve heard me say before, I grew up in a family, like many of you, where when the price of a gallon of gasoline went up, it was discussed at the kitchen table.  Our family budgets, your family budgets to fill a tank \u2014 none of it should hinge on whether a dictator declares war.<\/p>\n<p>So, today, I\u2019m laying out a two-part plan not only to ease the pain that families are feeling right now, but to end this era of dependence and uncertainty, and to lay a new foundation for true and lasting American energy independence.<\/p>\n<p>Parenthetically, just imagine if, in fact, Europe didn\u2019t have to count on Russian oil \u2014 if they were energy independent.  It would change the nature of so much. <\/p>\n<p>The problem we\u2019re facing with gas prices has two roots. <\/p>\n<p>First, the pandemic.  When COVID struck, demand for oil plummeted, so production slowed down worldwide.  Because of the strength and the speed of our recovery, demand for oil shot back up much faster than the supply.  That\u2019s why the cost of gas began to rise last year.<\/p>\n<p>The second root is Vladimir Putin.  At the start of this year, gas was about $3.30 a gallon.  Today, it\u2019s about \u2014 averaging $4.20, $4.22.  It\u2019s higher in many states.  Nearly a dollar more in less than three months.  And the reason for that is because of Putin\u2019s war. <\/p>\n<p>And now, many people are no longer buying Russian oil around the world.  I banned the Russian import of oil here in America; Republicans and Democrats in Congress called for it and supported it.  It was the right thing to do.<\/p>\n<p>But as I said at the time, it\u2019s going to come with a cost.  As Russian oil comes off the global market, supply of oil drops and prices are rising.  <\/p>\n<p>Now Putin\u2019s price strike \u2014 price hike is hitting Americans at the pump, which brings me to the first part of my plan: to immediately increase the supply of oil.<\/p>\n<p>Our prices are rising because of Putin\u2019s actions.  There isn\u2019t enough supply.<\/p>\n<p>And the bottom line is: If we want lower gas prices, we need to have more oil supply right now. <\/p>\n<p>For U.S. oil companies that are recording their largest profits in years, they have a choice.  One, they can put those profits to productive use by producing more oil, restarting idle wells, or producing on the sites they already are leasing \u2014 giving the American people a break by passing some of the savings on to their customers and lowering the price at the pump.<\/p>\n<p>Or they can, as some of them are doing, exploit the situation: sit back, ship those profits to their investors, and \u2014 while American families struggle to make ends meet.<\/p>\n<p>Look, this is a moment of consequence and peril for the world and pain at the pump for American families.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also a moment of patriotism.  I want to acknowledge those companies that have already announced they\u2019re increasing immediate production.  They\u2019re investing money to produce more oil and also clean technologies we need to reduce our dependence on oil in the future. <\/p>\n<p>They have everything they need.  Nothing is standing in their way.  And they\u2019ve indicated they will be producing an extra 1 million barrels of oil per day, probably starting as early as this fall.  That\u2019s progress.<\/p>\n<p>But some companies have been pretty blunt.  They don\u2019t want to increase supply because Putin\u2019s price hike means higher profits.<\/p>\n<p>One CEO even acknowledged that they don\u2019t care if the price of a barrel of oil goes to $200 a barrel.  They\u2019re not going to step up the production.<\/p>\n<p>I say: Enough.  Enough of lavishing excessive profits on investors and payouts and buybacks when the American people are watching, the world is watching.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. oil companies made nearly $80 billion in profit last year.  And this year, those profits are expected to continue to soar.<\/p>\n<p>This is a time \u2014 not the time to sit on record profits.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s time to step up for the good of your country, the good of the world; to invest in immediate production that we need to respond to Vladimir Putin; to provide some relief for your customers, not investors and executives. <\/p>\n<p>Look, I\u2019m a capitalist.  I have no problem with corporations turning a good profit.  But companies have an obligation that goes beyond just their shareholders: to their customers, their communities, and their country.<\/p>\n<p>No American company should take advantage of a pandemic or Vladimir Putin\u2019s actions to enrich themselves at the expense of American families.<\/p>\n<p>Investing those provits [sic] \u2014 profits in production and innovation \u2014 that\u2019s what they should do.  Invest in your customers.<\/p>\n<p>And it isn\u2019t just like \u2014 it\u2019s not the patriotic thing to do; it\u2019s good for your business as well.<\/p>\n<p>Right now, the oil and gas industry is sitting on nearly 9,000 unused but approved permits for production on federal lands.  There are more than a [12] million unused acres they have a right to \u2014 to pump on. <\/p>\n<p>Families can\u2019t afford that companies sit on these \u2014 their hands.<\/p>\n<p>So, to help execute this first part of my plan, I\u2019m calling for a \u201cuse it or lose it\u201d policy.<\/p>\n<p>Congress should make companies pay fees on wells on federal leases they haven\u2019t used in years and acres of public land they\u2019re hoarding without production.<\/p>\n<p>Companies that are already producing from these wells won\u2019t be affected.  But those sitting on unused leases and idle wells will either have to start producing or pay the price for their inaction.<\/p>\n<p>Look, the action I\u2019m calling for will make a real difference over time.  But the truth is it takes months, not days, for companies to increase production.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why the next part of my plan is so important.<\/p>\n<p>Today, I\u2019m authorizing the release of 1 million barrels per day for the next six months \u2014 over 180 million barrels \u2014 for the Strategic \u2014 from the \u2014 from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.<\/p>\n<p>This is a wartime bridge to increase oil supply until production ramps up later this year.  And it is by far the largest release from our national reserve in our history. <\/p>\n<p>It will provide a historic amount of supply for a historic amount of time \u2014 a six-month bridge to the fall.<\/p>\n<p>And we\u2019ll use the revenue from selling the oil now to restock the Strategic Petroleum Reserve when prices are lower so we\u2019ll be ready \u2014 we\u2019ll be ready for future emergencies.<\/p>\n<p>Folks, I\u2019ve coordinated this release with allies and partners around the world.  Already, I have \u2014 we have commitments from other countries to release tens of millions of additional barrels into the market.<\/p>\n<p>Together, our combined efforts will supply well over a million barrels a day \u2014 nations coming together to deny Putin the ability to weaponize his energy resources against American families, and families and democracies around the world.<\/p>\n<p>Now, for the first part of my plan is about meeting an immediate crisis.  The second part is about declaring real American energy independence in the long term so that we never have to deal with this problem again. <\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, we and the whole world need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels altogether.  We need to choose long-term security over energy and climate vulnerability.  We need to double down on our commitment to clean energy and tackling the climate crisis with our partners and allies around the world. <\/p>\n<p>And we can do that by passing my plan that is literally before the Senate right now \u2014 the United States Congress right now \u2014 it\u2019s been there for well over a month \u2014 to speed the transition to a clean energy future that is made in America with American products and American values. <\/p>\n<p>We need to embrace all the tools and technologies that can help us free us from our dependence on fossil fuels and move us toward more homegrown clean energy technologies made by American companies and American workers so we can bolster democratic supply \u2014 excuse me \u2014 domestic supply chains here at home and export those technologies around the world to reduce greenhouse gases. <\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why, today, I am issuing a directive to strengthen our clean energy economy.  I\u2019m going to use the Defense Production Act to secure American supply chains for the critical materials that go into batteries for electric vehicles and the storage of renewable energy: lithium, graphite, nickel, and so much more. <\/p>\n<p>We need to end our long-term reliance on China and other countries for inputs that will power the future.  And I\u2019ll use every tool I have to make that happen.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, building a made-in-America clean energy future will help safeguard our national security.  Yes, it will help us tackle climate change.  Yes, it\u2019s going to help us ensure that America creates millions of good-paying jobs for generations to come. <\/p>\n<p>But most important \u2014 the most important thing my plan will do right away is save your family money.  And here\u2019s what I mean: Under my plan, which is before Congress now, we can take advantage of the next generation of electric vehicles that a typical driver will save about $80 a month from not having to pay gas at the pump.<\/p>\n<p>If your home is powered by safer, cheaper, cleaner electricity, like solar or heat pumps, you can save about $500 a month [year] on average. <\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t take my word for it.  The CEOs of 11 of America\u2019s largest utility companies came to see me at the White House several weeks ago.  They told me if we pass my plans before the Congress now, typical families will see savings show up in their utility bills immediately.  And costs will come down even more as we innovate and develop cutting-edge energy storage technologies, clean hydrogen technology, advanced nuclear technology, carbon capture- and sequestration technologies. <\/p>\n<p>And, by the way, this weeks, the benefit I included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help families weatherize their homes are being delivered. <\/p>\n<p>My administration is making $3.2 billion available from this legislation to provide up to $6,500 direct payment for working-class families to be able to weatherize their homes, to save them money, to keep them warm in the winter and cool in the summer.  It\u2019s a direct grant. <\/p>\n<p>This program has been around for a while, and in the past, it\u2019s delivered to families \u2014 average families another $327 [$372] in savings when they weatherize.  But now we have the ability to reach 10 times as many families because of the legislation that we already passed in the legislation.  But now we have the ability to reach 10 times as many families because of the legislation that we already passed in the legislation.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to that, we\u2019re also setting new standards to boost fuel economies for new vehicles sold in America.  Within five years, we\u2019re going to travel 10 miles more on every single gallon we have, because the average fuel economy of 49 miles to the gallon is going to be required.  That means hundreds of dollars in savings for families at the pump. <\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re also setting similar standards for appliances \u2014 from your air conditioner to your microwave to your refrigerator, washers, dryers.  It\u2019s just one of a hundred actions we\u2019re taking to save the average family $100 per year in utility bills.<\/p>\n<p>Look, the bottom line is this: Between rapping up \u2014 ramping up production in the short term and driving down demand in the long term, we can free ourselves from our dependence on imported oil from across the world. <\/p>\n<p>Look, I know gas prices are painful.  I get it.  My plan is going to help ease that pain today and safeguard again \u2014 against it tomorrow.  I\u2019m open to ideas to strengthen the plan, but I will not be \u2014 put off and put it on hold. <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s time to deliver true long-term energy independence in America once and for all.  And I\u2019m going to continue to use every tool at my disposal to protect you from Putin\u2019s price hike.  This is not time for politics.  Americas \u2014 Americans can\u2019t afford that right now.  So let\u2019s meet this moment together.  <\/p>\n<p>Remember, we\u2019re the only nation that has turned every crisis we ever faced into an opportunity.   We have a crisis: the price at the pump. <\/p>\n<p>So let\u2019s show some true strength of this nation \u2014 show our unity, our resolve, our innovative spirit in America \u2014 and come out of this, long term, much better off.  If \u2014 we stand up to the bullies of the world, the autocrats and the dictators.  We stand up for who those who are \u2014 who are ready to unite. <\/p>\n<p>Unite with us, the United States of America. <\/p>\n<p>So, may God bless you.  And may God protect our troops.  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President, how badly is Vladimir Putin being misinformed by his advisors?  How badly is Vladimir Putin being misinformed by his advisors?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  That\u2019s an open question.  There\u2019s a lot of speculation, but he seems to be \u2014 I\u2019m not saying this with a certainty \u2014 he seems to be self-isolating.  And there\u2019s some indication that he has fired or put under house arrest some of his advisors. <\/p>\n<p>But I \u2014 I don\u2019t want to put too much stock in that at this time because we don\u2019t have that much hard evidence.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President, how much, in monetary terms, do you estimate today\u2019s announcement will reduce gas prices?  And when can Americans expect to see these changes?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  That\u2019s a really important question, and there\u2019s no firm answer to it.  But prices already came down when it was announced ahead of time that Biden was going to release so much \u2014 so much energy fr- \u2014 so many barrels of oil from the SPRO.  They\u2019re already come down. <\/p>\n<p>My guess is we\u2019ll see it come down \u2014 continue to come down.  But how far down, I don\u2019t think anyone can tell. <\/p>\n<p>And there\u2019s going to be a slight delay, because if you go out there and you\u2019re a gas station and you purchased X amount of gas at a certain price, you\u2019re not going to lower the price of the pump until you\u2019re able to get back what you invested.  And that \u2014 I\u2019m talking a matter of, I think, you know, days and weeks.  But it\u2019s hard to tell.<\/p>\n<p>And the other thing is \u2014 exact.   But it will come down.  And it could come down fairly significantly.  It could come down the better part of \u2014 you know, anything from 10 cents to 35 cents a gallon.  It\u2019s unknown at this point. <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m also waiting to see whether or not our allies \u2014 exactly how many \u2014 how many barrels they released from their supplies.  Now, my guess is it could be as high \u2014 somewhere between 30 million to 50 million barrels.  And the higher the number, the more likely the prices will come down. <\/p>\n<p>Thank you all very much.  I appreciate it.  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President, have you seen any sign \u2014<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President, is buying oil \u2014 Mr. President, is buying oil from Venezuela out of the table?<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President, have you seen any signs that Putin is pulling back his forces?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  No. <\/p>\n<p>Q    So he\u2019s not pulling back his forces? <\/p>\n<p>Q    At pre-war level, sir?  Are the sanctions still working, sir?  Are the sanctions still working, sir?  The ruble is back. <\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.  I\u2019ll answer one question \u2014 your question. <\/p>\n<p>Q    Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  The question is: Is he pulling back his forces?  Whoever asked that question.<\/p>\n<p>Q    I asked that.  Yes.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  The question of whether he is pulling back his forces \u2014 it depends on how you read exactly what\u2019s going on. <\/p>\n<p>Thus far, there is no clear evidence that he\u2019s pulling all of his forces out of Kyiv.  And there is also evidence that he is beefing up his troops down in the Donbas area. <\/p>\n<p>Depending on your view of Putin \u2014 I\u2019m a little skeptical \u2014 it\u2019s an open question of whether he\u2019s actually pulling back and going to say, \u201cI\u2019m just going to focus on the Donbas, and I\u2019m not worried about the rest of the country.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m a skeptic. <\/p>\n<p>I \u2014 but I don\u2019t have proof that, in fact, he is not going \u2014 he is taking a pause, doing all he can to use all the troops he has in the Donbas and continue to keep an eye on and try to move beyond the rest of the country. <\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t know the answer. <\/p>\n<p>But it appears, so far, that he has not pulled all of his \u2014 the idea he\u2019s pulling all of those troops out from around Kyiv and moving south \u2014 there\u2019s no evidence that he\u2019s done that. <\/p>\n<p>Thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Good afternoon. As I said in my State of the Union Address, I\u2019m going to always be honest with the American people. Today, I want to talk with you about the costs here at home of Putin\u2019s decision to brutally and savagely invade a sovereign nation. The fact is, he\u2019s causing thousands of deaths [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":138607,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Chrome-Legacy-Window-3312022-90646-PM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=138604"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":138608,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138604\/revisions\/138608"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/138607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=138604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=138604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=138604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}