High gas prices and energy dependency is just one of the many headaches unleashed by the Biden administration on the American people. To address it, President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced that he is tapping into the oil reserves, as Leah reported. The answer might be a lot easier than that, though, if Biden would reinstate the Keystone XL pipeline, which he killed as one of his first executive orders.Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), a moderate Democrat with plenty of leverage, is among those suggesting that the president do so.
Manchin's statement, which he issued as the chairman of the the Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resource came in response to Biden's decision, which he said was "an important policy Band-Aid for rising prices but does not solve for the self-infected wound that shortsighted energy policy is having on our nation."
"With an energy transition underway across the country, it is critical that Washington does not jeopardize America's energy security in thew near term and lead consumers vulnerable to rising prices," the statement continued.
Manchin also brought up concerns of inflation, as well, another issue that is hitting the American people hard and dragging Biden down in the polls.
"Historic inflation taxes and the lack of a comprehensive all-of-the-above energy policy pose a clear and present threat to American's economic and energy security that can no longer be ignored. I continue to call on President Biden to responsibly increase energy production here at home and to reverse course to allow the Keystone XL pipeline to be built which would have provided our country with up to 900,000 barrels of oil per day from Canada, one of our closest allies," the statement read.
It closed with Manchin driving the point home. "To be clear, this is about American energy independence and the fact that hard working Americans should not depend on foreign actors, like OPEC+, for our energy security and instead focus on the real challenges facing our country's future."
In February Manchin had urged Biden to reconsider his executive order.
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), the ranking member on the committee, also released a statement. The statement in part noted that tapping into the reserves "will not fix the problem."
Referencing Biden's move to kill the Keystone XL has been something the GOP has stuck to as a talking point, especially now.
Former President Donald Trump, as Katie reported, slammed the decision, who questioned "Is this any way to run a Country?"
Trump also went on "Hannity," on Tuesday night, where he called the decision "ridiculous."
"We filled up the strategic reserves and now the Biden administration wants to take the strategic reserves, which were filled for the first time in decades, and they want to use that to try and artificially force down the price of gasoline and gas. It's ridiculous." pic.twitter.com/BDC0G5jGMl
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) November 24, 2021
Other Republican members and committees also tweeted their outrage.
As House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) pointed out over Twitter, the move will also hardly make a dent in fixing gas prices.
President Biden's decision to tap America's strategic reserves—which will release just 3 days’ worth of oil onto the market—is not about a real solution to our energy crisis.
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) November 23, 2021
It is a crass political ploy just 3 days ahead of Thanksgiving.
As Spencer reported, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) on Tuesday night called the move "both weak and dumb."
Senator @JohnKennedyLA: "The reason gas prices are going up is because the oil's in Louisiana and Texas and the dipsticks are in Washington, D.C." pic.twitter.com/hdKBjkV1S3
— Spencer Brown (@itsSpencerBrown) November 24, 2021