Steve Scalise vs. Karine Jean-Pierre

Just recently, Karine Jean-Pierre, aka KJP, accused Republicans of trying to raise gas prices. Later this week, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise plans on teeing up a vote on legislation involving the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, aka the SPR.

The legislation would require "the White House to lay out a plan to increase the share of federal land leased for oil and gas production by 5% if it wants to draw down the reserve by 5%." This legislation paints the administration into a corner. Biden has repeatedly said that he's doing everything he can to lower gas prices.

That's a lie. He's done everything he can to lower gas prices without putting together a legitimate long-term plan for increasing oil exploration and production. By teeing up this vote, members won't be able to pretend to be pro-oil without voting for oil exploration and production legislation.

Scalise did a magnificent job laying out the history of SPR in this speech from the House floor:

Thanks to this legislation, Democrats must decide between raising oil production or playing pretend with the lifeblood of the U.S. economy.

The SPR was established in the 1970s to mitigate oil supply shocks, but the Biden Administration has tapped it for political relief. As gasoline prices climbed in fall 2021 amid the pandemic recovery, the Administration began releasing from the stockpile. It increased releases after the Ukraine invasion.

While the drawdowns more than offset the decline in Russian exports, they didn’t compensate for lower U.S. production, which remains about 900,000 barrels a day below the pre-pandemic peak. Much of the pandemic growth in oil production has occurred on private and state land in the Permian basin where permitting is easier.

Joe Biden hasn't lifted a finger to fix the U.S.'s long-term energy problems. We're still producing 900,000 barrels of oil a day less than pre-COVID. Joe Biden has essentially kicked the fossil fuel industry in the teeth through ESG regulations, through the Federal Reserve's heavy hand and through outright hostility towards the fossil fuel industry. The statement issued at the "Three Amigos" leadership conference prominently mentioned climate change but it didn't mention fossil fuels.

Until Joe Biden starts taking fossil fuels seriously, Republicans (like Steve Scalise) should push him towards admitting the foolishness of renewables. When it comes to energy, Democrats are anything except experts.