Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm pushed back against the notion that there were too many regulations on oil refineries, and that was behind the lack of production.
Host Joe Scarborough asked Granholm if President Joe Biden should “level with the American people” and admit that overregulation was an issue.
Granholm replied that regulations were not behind the lack of production. She argued that “something else is going on,” pointing out that the price of oil per barrel had remained around the same amount.
“[L]et me just say, Joe, it’s not that the regulations are on oil refineries — 80% of the oil refining came off the market before Joe Biden took office. It’s a global issue as well,” Granholm outlined. “It’s not just a regulatory issue. Some of those refineries flipped over to do biofuels.”
She continued, “And the president is saying, you know, in March — just as an example, Joe — in March, the price of oil per barrel on the global market was about $120. And in March, people in the United States were paying about $4.25 a gallon. Today, the price of oil on the global market is about $120. Same price, but we’re paying 75 cents or more at the pump. Why is that? And so, the president is just asking these refiners, which of course, are owned by these oil and gas companies, to increase supply. And if you can’t, tell us how we can help to make sure we increase supply in the way we can.”
“We’re not against profit,” Granholm added. “It’s just that when you have a 225% increase in profit year over year in quarter one, I mean, it just tells you something else is going on.”
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