At the urging of environmental groups, Democrats are going on the offensive on gas prices — hitting energy companies with a populist message that puts the party squarely at odds with Republicans and the oil industry.To do otherwise would be “dangerous and political malpractice,” Geoff Garin, a Democratic pollster, argued in a memo published on Thursday.In a survey, Garin found that 60 percent of voters viewed “price gouging and excessive price increases by oil companies to increase their profits” as major reasons that gas prices have risen to a national average of $4.29 per gallon.“They’re jacking up prices, and people see that,” said Pete Maysmith, a senior vice president for campaigns at the League of Conservation Voters, which co-sponsored the poll.Climate Power, an allied group, unveiled an ad this week, titled “We’ve Been Here Before,” that is running on cable television and online.“Here we are again,” the narrator begins over footage of Russian tanks. “An overseas conflict hikes up our gas prices, and oil C.E.O.s rake in record profits.”The ad is the beginning of a new $5 million push by a coalition of green groups to highlight what they claim is profiteering by oil companies and to raise the pressure on Congress to pass stalled climate legislation.“This is an inflection point,” said John Podesta, a former chief of staff to Bill Clinton and the chairman of the board of directors for the Center for American Progress. “The public sees a petro-fueled, authoritarian regime violating all the laws of war and pounding a civilian population in Ukraine — these two things have come together in a visceral way.”It’s also the latest sign of the growing clout of the environmental movement, which has moved over the last decade from the periphery of Democratic political power to its very center.ImageSenator Joe Manchin III called last week for increasing domestic oil and gas production.Credit...Sarahbeth Maney/The New York TimesManchin begs to differ
The White House and congressional leaders are on board with the new message — but they are already running into a familiar obstacle on Capitol Hill.On Wednesday, President Biden accused energy companies of price gouging. “Oil and gas companies shouldn’t pad their profits at the expense of hardworking Americans,” he tweeted.“No one should capitalize on Putin’s aggression by taking advantage of American families,” Jen Psaki, Biden’s press secretary, added at the beginning of Wednesday’s news briefing. White House officials also point to statements by oil companies indicating their preference for reinvesting profits in stock buybacks and dividends rather than in new production.Industry representatives say there’s nothing untoward going on and that the spike in prices has been caused by typical patterns of supply and demand. Last week, Frank Macchiarola, a senior vice president at the American Petroleum Institute, dismissed Democrats’ accusations as “political grandstanding.”Energy executives will have their say soon enough. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Senate majority leader, announced plans on Wednesday to hold hearings “very soon” on what he called “the alarming spike in energy prices.”In the House, Representative Frank Pallone Jr. of New Jersey, chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, sent letters to six oil companies inviting them to testify on April 6, accusing the energy industry of “taking advantage of the crisis for its own benefit.”All of this, of course, is a very different message from the one coming from Senator Joe Manchin III of coal-producing West Virginia — who happens to be the chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and who also happens to be the 50th vote Democrats would need to pass any legislation.In an industry-friendly hearing last week, Manchin called for increased domestic oil and gas production — essentially, the Republican position — as he walked through his disagreements with the White House’s policies as well as its tone.“This is going to take both the administration and industry to step up to the plate, stop pointing fingers, take action and get it done,” Manchin said.Democrats are still negotiating over which committee would summon the oil executives, we’re told, with the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee as a possible venue.“We’ll see where ultimately he lands,” Podesta said of Manchin. “It’s frustrating because he says something different every other day.”The left wing of the House, meanwhile, is going its own way, in a sign of frustration with how the climate legislation has stalled in the Senate.On Thursday, the House Progressive Caucus unveiled an expansive wish list of executive actions it wants Biden to take. ItBy: Blake Hounshell and Leah Askarinam
Title: Climate Activists Flex Their Political Muscle
Sourced From: www.nytimes.com/2022/03/17/us/politics/democrats-oil-companies-gas-prices.html
Published Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2022 23:03:05 +0000
Read More
UK PoliticsWorld PoliticsVideosPrivacy PolicyTerms And Conditions
