White House: Rising Gas Prices Prove Government Should Spend More on Green Energy

The White House on Friday said that rising gas prices proved that the federal government should spend more on green energy.

“The rise in gas prices over the long term makes an even stronger case for doubling down our investment and our focus on clean energy options,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during the daily briefing.

Psaki acknowledged that the White House had suspended oil and gas leases on federal lands, but clarified that existing leases were still able to produce.

She blamed market fluctuations driven by OPEC for rising gas prices and repeated that the Biden administration would continue monitoring any cases of possible price gouging by energy companies.

When asked if the current prices were acceptable, Psaki replied, “We certainly don’t think that.”

Psaki did not have any response to questions about whether the Biden administration would act immediately to alleviate high gas prices.

Some of the proposals for the administration include banning exports of fossil fuels, easing bio-fuel blending requirements, or releasing fuel from the strategic oil reserves, some of them even endorsed by Senate Democrats.

Psaki did not respond to any of the proposals, but said that the White House was “monitoring” the situation but had no specific actions to preview.