The price of a gallon of gasoline continues to rise dramatically, having gone up by more than double since President Joe Biden took office and spiking significantly again this week following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Gas prices have topped more than $5 per gallon in some states including California.
Nationally, prices climbed 11 cents overnight, according to AAA, the highest one-day increase since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
“Gas prices in California broke record highs in the state averaging $5.07 per gallon, while cities like Syracuse, New York, are experiencing the highest prices in 10 years, and Michigan is seeing the price rise 39 cents in just one week,” The Daily Wire noted.
“A report by Triple-A ranked the states with the highest gas prices currently. As usual, California was at the top of that list, with the highest reported cost at $5.07 per gallon,” ABC 30 reported.
And in Syracuse, the average cost of gas “increased to $4.026 per gallon of regular fuel Friday morning, according to AAA,” Syracuse.com reported. That figure is up “20 cents from two days ago, when it was $3.808” and “it’s also up 30 cents from last week when prices averaged $3.720.”
Syracuse.com added:
The sharp increase is largely due to Russia’s war with Ukraine; Russia is one of the world’s top oil producers. Oil prices increased this week to more than $100 a barrel. CBS reports the price of Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, neared $113 a barrel, its highest level since 2014, on Wednesday.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she supports banning Russian oil imports to the U.S., which could help President Joe Biden and global allies in isolating Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime. However, a ban could also cause a bigger increase in prices at the pump, fueling Republicans’ calls to expand oil or gas drilling in the U.S.
Conservative groups are blaming Democrats’ and Biden’s energy policies.
“Gas prices are soaring with no signs of slowing down thanks to Democrats’ failed policies,” Congressional Leadership Fund Press Secretary Cally Perkins said in an email.
Perkins blamed Democrats like Michigan Congressman Dan Kildee.
“Every time Michiganders head to the gas pump they’re reminded that Kildee and Democrats did everything they could to restrict American energy, and now working families are paying the price,” she added.
As prices soar, 25 GOP governors issued a letter Friday demanding that the president alleviate the effect of price spikes long term by making the U.S. energy independent through the re-opening of federal lands for oil supply.
That letter was signed by the following Republican governors, according to a Wyoming local media out:
Governors [Mark Gordon (WY)] Brad Little (ID), Kay Ivey (AL), Mike Dunleavy (AK), Doug Ducey (AZ), Asa Hutchinson (AR), Ron DeSantis (FL), Brian Kemp (GA), Eric Holcomb (IN), Kim Reynolds (IA), Larry Hogan (MD), Tate Reeves (MS), Mike Parson (MO), Greg Gianforte (MT), Pete Ricketts (NE), Chris Sununu (NH), Doug Burgum (ND), Kevin Stitt (OK), Henry McMaster (SC), Kristi Noem (SD), Bill Lee (TN), Greg Abbott (TX), Spencer Cox (UT), Glenn Youngkin (VA) and Jim Justice (WV)
“As governors, we call on President Biden to reverse his policies and restore America’s energy independence for our citizens as well as our allies abroad,” the letter said.
“By removing his bans on new oil and gas development on federal lands, building the Keystone XL pipeline, and reinstating regulatory reforms to streamline energy permitting, we can protect our national energy security and sell to our friends rather than buy from our enemies—specifically Russia. Family budgets have already been stretched thin following record inflation,” the governors wrote.
“People in our states cannot afford another spike at the gas pump, and our allies cannot afford to be held hostage by Putin’s tyranny and aggression,” the group added.
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