President Joe Biden delivers remarks on efforts to lower high gas prices in the South Court Auditorium at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, on June 22, 2022. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
President Joe Biden on Monday demanded that gas stations, banks, and cell phone services drop their prices to help consumers amid soaring inflation.
Biden made the demand during a White House meeting on Sept. 26 in which he said that family budgets are being weighed down by unnecessary hidden fees or “junk fees,” including things like bank overdraft fees and termination fees for cell phones.
“They shouldn’t be paying it anyway, in my view—and at a time when they can’t afford it,” Biden said. “Families shouldn’t have to pay these fees.”
Stating that the “price of oil worldwide is down,” Biden lamented the fact that these lower prices have not been reflected at the pump while oil and gas companies continue to bring in record-high profits.
“Don’t you think the price at the pump should come down?” Biden said. “The price of a gallon of gasoline ... But it takes a long time for that to happen in relative terms. And they’re making a lot of profit, and the public is paying as part of the inflation.”
‘Do It Now’
“But look, my message is simple. To the companies running gas stations and setting those prices at the pump: Bring down the prices you’re charging at the pump to reflect the cost you pay for the product. Do it now. Do it now. Not a month from now—do it now. And it’s going to save people a lot of money.”
U.S. oil futures fell 9.2 percent in August, while gasoline prices were also down 9.2 percent, Bloomberg reported.
Despite this decline, national average gasoline prices are still $3.74, as of Sept. 27, according to AAA, up from $3.189 this time last year. They also remain considerably higher in various parts of the country, particularly in the West, in places like Oregon, Washington, and California, where drivers are forking out $5.883 a gallon amid short supplies and issues at refineries on the West Coast.
A customer pumps gas service station in Petaluma, Calif., on May 18, 2022. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
While gasoline prices across the country have been on the decline for the past 14 weeks, which the Biden administration has regularly touted, that trend made a reversal last week, according to GasBuddy, which reported that prices had risen some 3.2 cents from a week prior.
GasBuddy said that “refinery snags in some areas of the country” were behind the “wild fluctuations” in prices in some parts of the United States as they have created supply challenges, prompting prices to spike despite oil prices dropping.
“However, the Northeast and Gulf Coast continue to see normal activity at refineries, and prices there have dropped,” the Boston-based company wrote. “The disconnect between regions grows larger and will likely remain abnormal for the next few weeks until refinery issues get under control and rectified.”
American Consumers Feeling the Strain
Meanwhile, the Biden administration has released a record 180 million barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an effort to curtail higher fuel prices.
The Biden administration has also agreed with European Union leaders in March to send an additional 15 billion cubic feet of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the EU by the end of this year after the latter imposed energy sanctions on Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine.
Amid decreased domestic gas and oil production and Biden’s goals regarding green energy, American consumers have been dealt a heavy blow in terms of energy costs.
The situation may worsen further after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries suggested it will reduce its production as global oil stocks will likely rise in 2023 amid weakening demand and a stronger U.S. dollar.
Biden’s comments come as his support is dwindling ahead of the midterm elections in November, with 57 percent of Americans stating they disapprove of the president, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll.
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