Last Monday, U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate oil prices briefly dipped down to $94 a barrel, marking its lowest level since late February. The last time a barrel of oil cost that much, the national average for a gallon of regular was just over $3.50. Yet today it remains as high as $5 in some states.
When the cost of oil spikes, gasoline prices skyrocket. So why is it that when oil prices decrease rapidly, the price at the pump has barely dropped? Greed. Greed from the Big Oil corporations, who are unfairly driving up the costs on hardworking American families.
Now, the recent gas price spikes were not unexpected. President Biden warned Americans that his decision to ban imports of Russian petroleum products into the U.S. would affect gas prices. Still, even with these consequences, the vast majority of Americans and politicians — Democrat and Republican — supported the move as part of a global effort to ensure Vladimir Putin’s Russia remains an economic pariah.
But let’s be clear, the senseless war in Ukraine is no excuse for our nation’s richest oil corporations to make America’s working families foot the bill at the pump. These are the same companies that earned a record $174 billion in profits during the first nine month of 2021. Look no further than ExxonMobil, America’s largest oil company, which bragged earlier this month that their first quarter earnings profited $9.3 billion from pumping oil and gas alone, breaking a seven-year quarterly record.
If there is anyone that can afford Putin’s price hike — it is Big Oil.
I already know what you’re thinking. It’d be foolish for anyone to believe the fossil fuel industry is going to choose relief for hardworking Americans over their own greed and profit.
So, how do we manage the playing field? In the immediate term, we need Congress to pass the Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act, which will lower consumer costs and maintain American competitiveness by taxing the oil companies that are profiteering in this moment of crisis. This is how we lower costs for families while holding Big Oil accountable and preventing further exploitation.
This is, however, solely a short-term solution to a long-term problem. It’s long past time the U.S. ends our reliance on fossil fuel corporations and instead strengthens our energy independence and boosts our supply chain to prevent this scenario from ever occurring again.
Luckily, significant steps have been taken in recent months. To help insulate workers and families from price increases, Democrats and one single Republican in the House passed the America COMPETES Act in March to strengthen our nation’s supply chains, bolster domestic manufacturing and reduce our reliance on nations like Russia. On top of that, the bipartisan infrastructure law invested billions of dollars to supercharge America’s transition to electric vehicles, clean energy and new green, union jobs.
Now it’s time for Congress to double down and speed up — not slow down — our transition to a clean energy future.
That’s why I joined my colleagues in the Congressional Progressive Caucus in calling on President Biden to marshal the federal government’s purchasing power to invest in affordable, homegrown renewable energy so that we cut costs for millions of families. Through executive action, this administration can bring down energy prices and save taxpayers billions of dollars by ending domestic and international federal fossil fuel subsidies and reinstating the crude oil export ban.
This is our golden opportunity to not only lower costs for American families by investing in clean energy but also make real strides in addressing the climate crisis. If we don’t, American families will continue to be ripped off at the pump while Big Oil rakes in billion-dollar profits.
Newman represents the 3rd District of Illinois and is a member of the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure.
