Biden Puts Band-Aid on Crisis He Created

The United States of America went from being energy independent to energy dependent in a mere 18 months. Now, the President has just ordered the release of United States oil reserves – 1 million barrels of oil per day to be exact – spread out over the next 6 months. But does this actually provide any relief to American families?

ACLJ Director of Policy Harry Hutchison gave his thoughts:

First, we should note that the United States energy consumption in 2021 was almost 20 million barrels per day. Hence, Biden’s decision to tap into our strategic energy reserve only amounts to 5% of our daily consumption and that is only for 6 months. Second, as a result of market disruptions, gasoline and diesel prices have been significantly increasing since the onset of the war in Ukraine. On March 6th the price of regular gasoline soared over $4 dollars per gallon and on March 10th, the average price of diesel inflated to over $5 dollars per gallon. . . . So now the American people are paying the highest petroleum energy prices ever recorded. In addition to that, we should note that the U.S. energy price amount is close to the Biden Administration goal. So, it’s important to keep in mind that the Biden Administration has always had the goal of raising petroleum prices in order to shift consumption to alternative sources of energy. The problem of course is that there are virtually no alternative sources of energy.

From day one, the Biden Administration’s goal was to shift consumption to alternative sources of energy. ACLJ Director of Government Affairs Thann Bennett explained how we saw this coming:

How many times have we said this? Elections and policy choices have consequences. I think I would start by just reminding people what candidate Joe Biden said . . . he said I guarantee you we are going to end fossil fuel and I am not going to cooperate with them. It’s not like we got here by accident. . . . This was a policy path that this candidate and now this President wanted. He got lots of warnings from us and other people that if this was the tactic that he was going to take, that the American people were going to pay the price, literally at the pump and in lots of other ways as well. On day one, he started implementing this plan when he shut off the Keystone pipeline, when he blocked exploration in ANWR, and a number of other things. . . . This was not an accident. This was an intentional policy choice that this Administration made.

The Biden Administration absolutely created this problem and now they are attempting to put a Band-Aid on it because midterm elections are approaching. ACLJ Senior Counsel for Global Affairs and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo explained how this is not an actual solution:

This is a political solution in search of finding a way to get out of an economic problem that he created. He created it by shutting down American energy, not just the drillers and the people producing energy, but the pipelines to move it around the world, the folks who can export it. It’s a massive national security problem. A million barrels a day out of the reserve? That is not nothing in the sense that the United States drills 10-11 million barrels per day so it’s another 10 percent. 103 billion barrels are consumed around the world roughly, so it’s 1%, so it’s not nothing. But it’s not going to solve the problem. The whole world can see that this is temporary. They can see that he did it for 6 months between here until the election. This is not a solution to what families are suffering from whether they are trying to keep their homes cool, or heat their homes in the winter all around the world, and if you’re trying to drive any place today . . .  gas prices are a calamity and a million barrels a day from the strategic petroleum reserve doesn’t begin to address that challenge.

Another issue that affects families that we are working on is reducing the tax burden on American families. The ACLJ just filed a major amicus brief in Federal Appeals Court on behalf of 64 Members of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House in a lawsuit against President Biden’s unconstitutional mandate barring states from lowering their own taxes. ACLJ Director of Government Affairs Thann Bennett further explained what our brief is about:

This is one we have been working on for a couple of years now. The first COVID stimulus package that passed after President Biden took office, it was the first partisan one, they used it to jam all sorts of partisan measures into it. One of them is one that we are filing on today. It's a provision that says every state that gets COVID stimulus dollars, they can’t reduce your state taxes in any form or fashion all the way until 2024. We know Congress can condition funds, but they certainly can’t coerce states like that. So we partnered with states at the district level, we challenged that in court filing briefs on behalf of Members of Congress, on two rulings at the district court level . . . but the government continues to press their case. They have appealed to the 11th Circuit; they want to make sure states can’t reduce taxes. Today, we filed on behalf of 64 Members of Congress insisting on the states right to set their own tax policy.

ACLJ Senior Counsel CeCe Heil summed it up:

That shows you the true heart behind the Biden Administration. Obviously, every time you take federal funds it comes with strings. So, you take federal funds very limitedly. But this is ridiculous when these federal funds are coming with strings that say states cannot reduce taxes. That absolutely hits the American people. They are harming the American people, almost intentionally.

Today’s full Sekulow broadcast is complete with even more in-depth analysis of President Biden’s releasing of oil reserves and our new brief against the Biden Administration’s mandate barring states from lowering their own taxes.

Watch the full broadcast below.