Transcript - Remarks: Joe Biden Addresses The Government Response to High Gas Prices - June 22, 2022 | Factba.se

Joe Biden

00:00:00 - 00:00:08 ()

Good afternoon, everyone. I'd like to talk to you about the actions I'm announcing to bring down gas prices.

Joe Biden

00:00:08 - 00:00:19 ()

First, today I'm calling on Congress to suspend the federal gas tax for the next 90 days, through the busy summer season -- busy travel season.

Joe Biden

00:00:19 - 00:00:37 ()

Here's what that means: Every time you go to the gas station to fill your tank, the federal government charges an 18-cent tax per gallon of gas that you purchase and a 24-cent tax per gallon of diesel you purchase. It's a tax that's been around for 90 years.

Joe Biden

00:00:37 - 00:00:49 ()

It's important because we use it for the Highway Trust Fund to keep our highways going. But what I'm proposing is suspending the federal gas tax without affecting the Highway Trust Fund.

Joe Biden

00:00:49 - 00:01:06 ()

And here's how we do that: With the tax revenues up this year and our deficit down over $1.6 trillion this year alone, we'll still be able to fix our highways and bring down prices of gas. We can do both at the same time.

Joe Biden

00:01:06 - 00:01:17 ()

By suspending the 18-cent gas tax -- federal gas tax for the next 90 days, we can bring down the price of gas and give families just a little bit of relief.

Joe Biden

00:01:17 - 00:01:28 ()

I call on the companies to pass this along -- every penny of this 18-cents reduction -- to the consumers. This is -- there's no time now for profiteering.

Joe Biden

00:01:28 - 00:01:42 ()

There are a number of other proposals by Democrats in the House and the Senate, and I hope my call for action can help move those proposals forward as well. But we can also cut gas prices even more in another way.

Joe Biden

00:01:42 - 00:01:53 ()

That's why the second action I'm taking is calling on states to either suspend the state gas tax as well or find other ways to deliver some relief.

Joe Biden

00:01:53 - 00:02:00 ()

State gas taxes average [another] 30 cents per gallon. Already, some states have acted.

Joe Biden

00:02:00 - 00:02:06 ()

In Connecticut and New York, the governors have temporarily suspended their gas tax as well.

Joe Biden

00:02:06 - 00:02:11 ()

In Illinois and Colorado, governors delayed theirs to give families a bit more breathing room as well.

Joe Biden

00:02:11 - 00:02:24 ()

In Minnesota, Governor Walz proposes using state budget surpluses to give households a rebate that will help them pay for gas at the pump or other essential needs.

Joe Biden

00:02:24 - 00:02:28 ()

I'm calling on more states and local governments to take actions like these.

Joe Biden

00:02:28 - 00:02:41 ()

Thanks to our historic economic recovery, which fortified state budgets that had been hurt in the pandemic, states are now in a strong position to be able to afford to take some of these actions.

Joe Biden

00:02:41 - 00:02:56 ()

Now, I fully understand that a gas tax holiday alone is not going to fix the problem, but it will provide families some immediate relief -- just a little bit of breathing room -- as we continue working to bring down prices for the long haul.

Joe Biden

00:02:56 - 00:03:04 ()

Third, I'm calling on the industry to refine more oil into gasoline and to bring down gas prices.

Joe Biden

00:03:04 - 00:03:15 ()

Let me explain. I know my Republican friends claim we're not producing enough oil and I'm limiting oil production. Quite frankly, that's nonsense.

Joe Biden

00:03:15 - 00:03:31 ()

Here's the truth: Just this month, America produced 12 million barrels of oil per day. That's the highest -- that's higher than average under my predecessor. And I'm -- we're on track to set a new record for production next year.

Joe Biden

00:03:31 - 00:03:44 ()

Plus, I've added to that supply of oil by releasing a record 1 million barrels of oil per day from what's called the Strategic Petro- -- Petroleum Reserve.

Joe Biden

00:03:44 - 00:03:58 ()

In fact, I just led the world to coordinate the largest release of global oil reserves in history, including from other countries. In total, that's 240 million barrels to boost global supply.

Joe Biden

00:03:58 - 00:04:05 ()

And Republicans falsely claim that I'm blocking production on federal lands. But again, that's nonsense.

Joe Biden

00:04:05 - 00:04:13 ()

The industry has more approved permits for production on federal lands than they can possibly use. That's a fact.

Joe Biden

00:04:13 - 00:04:28 ()

My administration also directed the sale of gasoline using homegrown biofuels -- ethanol, E15 -- this summer, which will boost gasoline supplies and lower the price at thousands of gas stations across America.

Joe Biden

00:04:28 - 00:04:40 ()

And I welcome the recent announcement from what's known as the OPEC+, a group of nearly two dozen oil-producing nations, to increase global oil supply.

Joe Biden

00:04:40 - 00:04:59 ()

The bottom line is: We are setting records in terms of American energy production. We're supplementing that supply with a release from our oil reserves. So the issue isn't oil production alone; the problem is the refining of that oil into gas at the pump.

Joe Biden

00:04:59 - 00:05:04 ()

During the pandemic, some oil and gas companies shut down refining facilities.

Joe Biden

00:05:04 - 00:05:19 ()

Last week, I sent a letter to the CEOs of the largest oil-refining companies asking them to work with my administration to bring refineries back online to get more gas to the pump at lower prices.

Joe Biden

00:05:19 - 00:05:34 ()

The Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, and members of my team will be meeting with many of these refining companies tomorrow. And I hope they'll come up to the table with some real ideas and practical steps in the near term.

Joe Biden

00:05:34 - 00:05:43 ()

And I'm prepared to act quickly and decisively on their recommendations if they make sense to address the immediate challenge in front of us and the American people.

Joe Biden

00:05:43 - 00:05:54 ()

Finally, when the cost of oil does come down, we need the price at the gas stations -- that they -- what they charge at the pump -- to come down as well.

Joe Biden

00:05:54 - 00:06:16 ()

For example, in the last two weeks, the price of oil has fallen by more than $10.00 a barrel. Normally, this would reduce the cost at the pump about 25 cents a gallon. Yet, so far, gas stations have only reduced prices by a few cents a gallon. Some haven't reduced prices at all.

Joe Biden

00:06:16 - 00:06:32 ()

I've heard plenty of explanations from companies and economists about why it normally takes time for these price reductions to reach the consumer. I might note that when the price of a barrel of oil goes up, it doesn't make -- ta- -- take much time for the price at the pump to go up.

Joe Biden

00:06:32 - 00:06:49 ()

So, let's be honest with one another. My message is simple. To the companies running gas stations and setting those prices at the pump: This is a time of war, global peril, Ukraine. These are not normal times.

Joe Biden

00:06:49 - 00:07:05 ()

Bring down the price you are charging at the pump to reflect the cost you are paying for the product. Do it now. Do it today. Your customers, the American people, they need relief now.

Joe Biden

00:07:05 - 00:07:06 ()

So, let me summarize:

Joe Biden

00:07:06 - 00:07:31 ()

Today, I'm calling for a federal gas tax holiday, state gas tax holiday [DEL: for :DEL] [or] the equivalent relief to consumers; oil companies to use their profits to increase refining capacity rather than buy back their own stock; gas stations to pass along the decree -- excuse me, not the decree, but the decrease in oil prices to lower prices at the pump.

Joe Biden

00:07:31 - 00:07:43 ()

And together, these actions could help drop the price at the pump by up to $1.00 a gallon or more. It doesn't reduce all of the pain, but it would be a big help.

Joe Biden

00:07:43 - 00:07:50 ()

I'm doing my part. I want the Congress, the states, and the industry to do their part as well.

Joe Biden

00:07:50 - 00:08:00 ()

And let's remember how we got here: Putin invaded Ukraine. Putin invaded Ukraine with 100,000 forces.

Joe Biden

00:08:00 - 00:08:14 ()

Just look at the facts: Since the start of the war in Ukraine this year, gas prices have risen by almost $2.00 a gallon in the United States, and sometimes more, around the world.

Joe Biden

00:08:14 - 00:08:26 ()

But it wasn't just Putin's invasion of Ukraine. It was the refusal of the United States and the rest of the free world to let Putin get away with something we haven't seen since World War Two.

Joe Biden

00:08:26 - 00:08:53 ()

I said at the time: Siding with Ukraine during the most serious aggression in Europe since World War Two -- defending freedom, defending democracy -- was not going to go without cost for the American people and the rest of the free world. We were going to have to pay a price as well -- in the cost of military equipment, economic assistance, humanitarian relief. And sanctioned Russian banking industries.

Joe Biden

00:08:53 - 00:09:07 ()

Russia is also the largest oi- -- one of the largest oil producers in the world. We cut off Russian oil into the United States, and our partners in Europe did the same, knowing that we would see higher gas prices.

Joe Biden

00:09:07 - 00:09:14 ()

We could have turned a blind eye to Putin's murderous ways, and the price of gas wouldn't have spiked the way it has.

Joe Biden

00:09:14 - 00:09:23 ()

I believe that would have been wrong. I believed it then -- I believed then and I believe now: The free world had no choice.

Joe Biden

00:09:23 - 00:09:35 ()

America could not stand by and the West could not have stood by -- although some suggested at the time -- and just watch Putin's tanks roll into Ukraine and seize a sovereign country.

Joe Biden

00:09:35 - 00:09:44 ()

If we did stand by, Putin wouldn't have stopped. Putin would've kept going, and we'd face an even steeper price.

Joe Biden

00:09:44 - 00:10:00 ()

And it wasn't just me. The American people understood. The American people rose to the moment. The American people did what they always have done: defend freedom around the world. They chose to stand with the people of Ukraine.

Joe Biden

00:10:00 - 00:10:12 ()

We had near unanimous support in the Congress -- Democrats, Republicans, and independents -- for supporting Ukraine, knowing full well the cost.

Joe Biden

00:10:12 - 00:10:34 ()

So, for all those Republicans in Congress criticizing me today for high gas prices in America, are you now saying we were wrong to support Ukraine? Are you saying we were wrong to stand up to Putin? Are you saying that we would rather have lower gas prices in America and Putin's iron fist in Europe? I don't believe that.

Joe Biden

00:10:34 - 00:10:55 ()

Look, I get the easy politics of the attack. I get that. But the simple truth is gas prices are up almost $2.00 a gallon because of Vladimir Putin's ruthless attack on Ukraine, and we wouldn't let him get away with it. And we're doing everything we can to reduce this pain at the pump now.

Joe Biden

00:10:55 - 00:11:04 ()

And if those experiences has shown us anything, it's that we need to grow and harness more energy here at home.

Joe Biden

00:11:04 - 00:11:10 ()

Let's lower the price of electric vehicles so we never have to pay at the pump in the first place.

Joe Biden

00:11:10 - 00:11:26 ()

Major auto companies are preparing for 50 percent of future sales to be electric vehicles by 2030, 100 percent by 2035. We're already building secure supply chains to build these electric vehicles here in America.

Joe Biden

00:11:26 - 00:11:42 ()

And we're investing almost $100 billion in public transit and rail, for all the studies show that it will take millions of cars off the road and significantly reduce pollution if there's a serious transportation system available.

Joe Biden

00:11:42 - 00:12:00 ()

Let's keep accelerating our deployment of homegrown resources -- sources of energy like solar and wind and nuclear and hydrogen and carbon capture and storage -- and keep developing battery technologies so we can store that power we need when the sun doesn't shine or the wind doesn't blow.

Joe Biden

00:12:00 - 00:12:10 ()

Folks, let's make sure we're never again forced to pay the price of a menacing dictator halfway around the world.

Joe Biden

00:12:10 - 00:12:17 ()

We can deal with the imme- -- this immediate crisis of high gas prices and still seize the clean energy future.

Joe Biden

00:12:17 - 00:12:22 ()

We're Americans. We can do both. We have the most qualified people in the world.

Joe Biden

00:12:22 - 00:12:45 ()

Let me close with this: Even as we lead the world in defending democracy and standing up to a brutal autocrat, there are actions we can take to help American families now. We have taken them. We are taking them. The federal gas tax holiday, state gas tax holiday. Bringing back refineries, putting them back online.

Joe Biden

00:12:45 - 00:12:59 ()

We just have to keep going. I promise you I'm doing everything possible -- everything possible to bring the price of energy down, gas prices down. And I want to make sure we all work on this together.

Joe Biden

00:12:59 - 00:13:07 ()

May God bless you all. And may God protect our troops. Thank you very much.