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Another way Biden is trying to buy your vote is to lower your summer gas prices but he’s not doing it the best way. A million barrels of fuel, in 100,000 gallon increments, will be released from storage sites in New Jersey and Maine. This was congressionally mandated to be sold off, then closed in a spending deal that was cut in March to avoid a government shut down. Prices average $3.60 nationwide.
Summer gas price relief
The Energy Department said it’s intended to help “lower costs for American families and consumers.″ But it’s just for the summer, enough to maybe boost election chances.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm put out a statement,
“The Biden-Harris administration is laser-focused on lowering prices at the pump for American families, especially as drivers hit the road for summer driving season. By strategically releasing this reserve in between Memorial Day and July 4th, we are ensuring sufficient supply flows to the tri-state and Northeast at a time hardworking Americans need it the most.”
The White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre agreed and that it helps with green energy. Biden’s trying “to lower gas and energy costs — including historic releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the largest-ever investment in clean energy.″
Gas was drained
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was significantly drained in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The last time it was this low was the 1980’s.
It helped stabilize gas prices but Republicans complained that the reserve is meant for national emergencies. On the bright side, the administration has been refilling the reserve which now has more than 367 million barrels of crude oil.
The gas should be transferred no later than June 30 per the order. President Barack Obama created this reserve. This is supposed to have been done by Congress.
The gas reserve
Costs about $19 million per year to maintain. Patrick De Haan is an analyst for GasBuddy. He said there isn’t likely to be a lot of impact on prices nationwide but there “may be a slight downward pressure on prices” in just the northeast.
De Haan talked to an Associated Press reporter. It’s small and needs to be rotated often because fuel has a shelf life. “As an analyst, this reserve never really made a whole lot of sense to have. That’s why there’s really no nation that has an emergency stockpile of gasoline” other than us.
Trump spoke about the move. “He’s unable to drill properly. He’s destroyed everything we had. We were energy independent. We were shortly going to be energy dominant, and now we have to go into what’s called the strategic reserves. If he ever got in again, you would be paying more than $10 a barrel. You better hope he doesn’t get reelected.” Trump noted about the reserve,
“He’s been doing this to keep the prices down, but the prices are now higher than they’ve been in a long time. He’s trying to stop that because, I guess, high prices are not good for elections but nothing he’s done has been good for elections.”
