Americans are understandably upset over high gas prices, and they are pressing their political leaders for relief. The Biden administration, absent any meaningful policy to address the issue, resorted to the well-worn canard—blame Big Oil.
That tactic was evident this week as the House Energy and Commerce Committee held an oversight hearing entitled, “Gouged at the Gas Station: Big Oil and America’s Pain at the Pump.”
That was a good tip-off as to how the day was going to go. Chairman Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ) started the ball rolling. “We are here today to get answers from Big Oil companies about why they are ripping off the American people.”
Democratic Representatives followed Pallone with the “when-did-you-stop-beating-your-wife” line of questioning. Representative Kim Schrier (D, WA) said, “It feels like gouging. It even feels like profiteering.” Others accused the oil companies of rewarding shareholders instead of protecting consumers.
This feigned outrage probably plays well back home since oil companies are easy targets, but the hypocrisy was blatant.
The Biden administration has been hostile toward fossil fuels since taking office by canceling the Keystone XL Pipeline,* freezing leases for drilling on federal lands, and emphasizing de-carbonizing the country’s energy portfolio.
Congressman Pallone has been all in. He leads the charge for banning all offshore drilling, and then calls a hearing where he excoriates the oil companies for not drilling more. That is like firing an employee and then complaining that their work isn’t getting done.
These oil companies are proceeding cautiously. They are reluctant to invest the massive amounts of money necessary to drill and produce more oil when the Biden administration has targeted them for extinction.
Naturally, the congressional critics accused the oil companies of “profiteering” and rewarding shareholders. Yes, oil companies are profitable… now. Unlike government, private companies have to make money or they won’t last, like in 2020 when oil prices tanked and companies went out of business.
Additionally, millions of Americans, including pension programs, have stock in oil companies so they benefit when the companies do well. Pallone knows that, especially since the pension fund in his home state has $4.8 billion in fossil fuel investments. The pension fund in Schrier’s home state has $7 billion in fossil fuel companies.
Pallone said in his opening statement that if the oil companies “wanted to do something about high gas prices, they put their profits to work by increasing supply.” If Pallone, Democrats on the committee and President Biden want to know why supplies are tight and prices are high, they should look in the mirror.
*(Editor’s note: An earlier version of the story did not properly identify the Keystone XL Pipeline.)