According to the Biden administration, one of the primary reasons for high gas prices is that gasoline supply companies are capitalizing on the situation. "The price of gasoline on the wholesale market has fallen by about 10% over the last few weeks, but the price at the pump hasn’t budged a penny," the US president said during his address.
"In other words, gas supply companies are paying less and making a lot more and they do not seem to be passing that on to consumers at the pump," he added, "In fact, if the gap between wholesale and retail gas prices were in line with past averages, Americans would be paying at least 25 cents less per gallon right now.”
According to AAA, the average price of a gallon of gas in the United States is currently $3.40. If Biden's calculations are correct, the average price for a gallon of gas should be around $3.15.
Biden further made the cost of gasoline a priority for his administration, saying, “Right now, I will do what needs to be done to reduce the price that you pay at the pump.”
"Companies are pocketing the difference as profit, that’s unacceptable," he underscored.
The US Energy Information Administration recorded in 2020 that Americans consumed 338 million gallons of gasoline each day, a figure that would indicate companies are earning an additional $84.5 million a day from American consumers, if Biden's claims are correct.
Biden further revealed that he has "asked the Federal Trade Commission to consider whether potentially illegal and anti-competitive behavior in the oil and gas industry is causing higher prices for consumers."
Additionally, the US commander-in-chief touched on his administration's efforts to reduce inflation and normalize supply chains as well as other measures to effectively lower the cost of fuel. Among those measures was a White House decision to conduct the largest release to date of the US strategic petroleum reserve.
The conference also saw Biden reiterate that he had gotten leaders from India, Japan, the Korean Republic, and other nations to make similar efforts.
Shortly after the Tuesday speech, US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm added clarity to the release of the strategic petroleum reserves, explaining that the reserves would be released over time as a short-term strategy to help alleviate price pressure on consumers.
Granholm added that energy prices are hard to predict, but that gas prices should begin to fall in the next few weeks. She also indicated that one of the Biden administration's long term plans is the expansion of clean energy resources.
Since the start of the Biden administration, the incoming president has taken heavy blows from critics who suggest that his policies are to blame for rising prices at gas stations across the nation. Some have taken to plastering stickers of Biden with an "I did that" quote onto the pumps.