By Larry Behrens RealClearEnergy
Joe Biden Drained the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)
No other President drew more oil out of our nation’s critical reserve than Biden, and he did it just for the politics. When Biden took office, the SPR level was at over 638 million barrels; today that level is at 370 million, the biggest drawdowns taking place in the lead up to the 2022 midterm elections. To put it another way, Mr. Biden inherited an SPR with the fuel indicator close to “Full” and now it hovers at around the “Half” mark.
Upon releasing nearly 200 million barrels in the lead-up to the 2022 midterms, Team Biden blamed the Russian invasion of Ukraine for soaring gas prices. However, they are once again considering raising the SPR ahead of November’s elections because Biden only cares about the cost of gas when his job is on the line.
Biden Administration Leased the Fewest Acres for American Oil Production Since Truman
Since the end of World War II, no other President has leased fewer acres of American land for oil production than Joe Biden. To put this failure in perspective, in his first 19 months in office, President Jimmy Carter leased 11.77 million acres of land for oil, compared to Biden’s 126,228. In December 2023, Biden’s Interior Department openly bragged about offering the fewest offshore oil leases in history. While Jimmy Carter, facing massive inflation and an unruly OPEC, leased 93 times the amount of land for American oil than Joe Biden.
During the second Presidential debate in 2020, Joe Biden promised to preside over the demise of the American oil industry. And while he’s done all he could to fulfil that failure, perhaps the most insulting part is his willingness to beg OPEC for more oil.
Joe Biden Colludes with Saudi Arabia for More Oil
In July 2022, American families were paying around $5 a gallon for gas at the pump, an historic high. Along with his decision to cut leases for American production and drain the SPR, Joe Biden made a trip to Saudi Arabia to fist-bump with their prince. Biden’s goal was to get Saudi Arabia to pump out more oil to alleviate skyrocketing prices. The Saudis not only refused, but they also actually decided to cut production.
In response, the Biden Administration entered into secret negotiations to have OPEC delay their production cuts until after the 2022 midterms. An American President colluding with a foreign power to manipulate gas prices for political purposes should be a massive scandal, but for Joe Biden, it was just another failure to ignore.
The Failed “Inflation Reduction Act”
Since taking office, Biden’s goal was a massive climate bill. First it was called “Build Back Better” but when that failed, his administration re-branded it as the Inflation Reduction Act. At the time, inflation was at the highest point since Carter left office and Biden successfully took advantage of the crisis he induced by passing the biggest climate bailout in history.
The $369 billion measure squeaked through Congress. Before the ink was dry from his signature, Biden started to note the bill was actually focused on climate and not inflation. This massive green bailout is a success for Biden because of the billions headed out the door to his friends and China. However, the current 3.3 inflation rate celebrated by Biden is higher than President Trump’s highest rate. And President Trump didn’t have to spend $369 billion of our money to achieve it.
Electric Vehicle (EV) Mandates
In 2023, Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed strict new vehicle admission standards. The ruling forced electric vehicles (EVs) to make up at least 54% of new car sales by 2030 and 66% by 2032. These arbitrary demands and deadlines have only delivered tangible failure.
Earlier this year, the media feigned outrage over President Trump noting the automobile market was facing a “bloodbath” under Biden. The debate stage on Thursday would be the perfect time for President Trump to point out to the world, and Biden, that he was right, particularly about EVs.
The last six months have seen EV companies layoff thousands, lose market share, and burn through billions. The pain is just getting started as earlier this week a survey found that nearly half of EV owners want to switch back to gas-powered cars.
While these five failures serve as the poster children of Biden’s energy mismanagement, there are many honorable mentions including his cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline and his war on gas stoves (along with nearly every other home appliance).
These disasters won’t get the attention they deserve in this first presidential debate. However, every voter needs to remember them when November rolls around.
Larry Behrens is the Communications Director for Power The Future. He has appeared on Fox News, ZeroHedge, and NewsMax speaking in defense of American energy workers. He is the author of the book “Sabotage: How Joe Biden Surrendered American Energy Independence.” You can follow him on X/Twitter @larrybehrens
