Republicans LAUGH when Biden says ‘we’re going to need oil for at least another decade’
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Republicans LAUGH when Biden says ‘we’re going to need oil for at least another decade’ while blaming executives for high gas prices
- Biden admonished oil companies for share buybacks
- He said the country would need oil for a decade and ‘beyond that’
- There were boos in the room in the middle of a showdown over fossil fuels.
President Joe Biden drew laughter from Republicans during his State of the Union address when he said the nation would need to remain dependent on oil and gas for “at least” another decade.
That comment, including lines not included in his prepared remarks, came despite his administration’s intense push on climate change and billions-worth of programs aimed at moving the nation away from oil in favor of green technologies.
Biden made the admission while outlining his comments to oil executives. ‘When I talk to a couple of them, they say we’re afraid they’re going to shut down all the oil and all the refineries anyway. So why should we invest in them?
βI say we’re going to need oil for a decade,β Biden said, only to have his thought interrupted by a loud chorus of laughter from the Republican side of the aisle.
“And beyond that,” he continued, speaking over the laughter. ‘We’re going to need it!’ he added, in a speech in which he, too, was booed and tangled with Republicans over what he said were his plans to cut Social Security.
Republicans gathered in the House chamber laughed audibly as President Biden said the nation is “going to need oil for a decade.”
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy could be seen sitting behind him on the dais, smiling and scratching his face.
Biden then returned to his prepared remarks, blaming oil companies for not investing in production to keep gas prices low. Biden spent much of last summer being pummeled by high gas prices, with the issue seen as a drag on Democrats in the election.
Republicans laughed when Biden made the oil comments, before attacking oil executives over share buyback programs, which increase stock values.
Biden, seen with Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.), went off script to talk about oil and energy.
Biden criticized oil companies for refusing to invest enough in production
He complained that oil companies use “record profits to buy back their own shares, rewarding CEOs and shareholders.” Corporations must do the right thing, he said, by proposing to quadruple the share buyback tax.
βWe are going to need oil for at least another decade,β he said, βand beyond that.β
Biden’s own climate goals call for a 50 percent reduction in emissions by 2030 from 2005 levels, a sharp drop.
Biden during his tenure has had to navigate the economic and consumer demands for cheaper gas with his long-term climate goals. His administration released millions of barrels from the nation’s strategic oil reserve amid price spikes his administration blamed on the war in Ukraine.
He placed a moratorium on new oil and gas leases on federal land when he took office, then lifted it last summer while cutting acreage and raising royalties.