Granholm: Biden ‘Wants to See’ if Oil and Gas Prices Drop in Next Few Months, But Has Encouraged Production

On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “New Day,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm stated that President Joe Biden has encouraged oil production to combat rising gas prices, and that Biden “wants to see” if projected decreases in oil and gas prices in the next few months are “going to be taking hold.”

Granholm said that what tools the president has to lower gas prices “is a short-term question. Because the president — really, ultimately, the best solution is to build an economy on clean energy so that you don’t have to rely on the volatility of fossil fuels. And that’s really what his build back better agenda and the bill he’s signing today is all about. But we do have this short-term issue. And we don’t want people hurting in the midst of it. He has encouraged production. People should be producing in the U.S. They should be producing globally. He’s gone after OPEC and asked them to increase. They have said that they will not be doing that. So, the president wants to see an increase in supply, and he has called upon that. And he has this other tool, which is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. He’s evaluating that as well. The Energy Information Agency, which is the objective agency that the government has to project and forecast what the cost of fuels is going to be, has said that there will be a reduction in cost in both oil and gasoline over the next few months. He wants to see whether that’s going to be taking hold. I’m sure he’s evaluating that. Ultimately, though, the solution is the long-term solution, which is to invest in clean solutions so that we don’t — we create our own energy here, that we are not reliant upon OPEC, and that we are not hurting the planet, helping to heal it.”

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