Empty Tanks, Empty Promises – Americans Feel Pain of Biden Administration’s Energy Agenda

June 29, 2021

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s been two years since Americans could travel for the July 4^th holiday and not surprisingly, many are anxious to hit the road. Unfortunately, these Americans are in for a rude awakening when they go to fill their gas tanks because gas prices are steadily increasing. Of course, that’s if folks can find gas at all. CNN provides a stark holiday weekend preview: 

When tens of millions of Americans hit the road this holiday weekend, they’re going to find the highest prices for gasoline in nearly seven years. But many will also find stations that don’t have any gas at all.

The national average price for a gallon of regular stands at $3.10, the highest since October 2014. The average is up just 2% since Memorial Day, but 42% from a year ago, when pandemic restrictions brought demand to a near halt and sent oil and gas prices plunging.

But stations running dry has nothing to do with the price — or even the supply — of gasoline. It’s the shortage of tank truck drivers coupled with rising demand that is causing supply chain bottlenecks and shortages. Experts say a growing number of stations are reporting that they are simply not able to get gas delivered — at any price.

As the story notes, gas shortages are being brought about by a shortage of truck drivers and difficulty in delivering gasoline. And while the Biden Administration will likely provide more lip service to making energy affordable and available, it’s important to remember that this is actually all part of their plan. 

When your signature energy policy is to cancel construction of a major pipeline, it is quite natural that the impact is going to be that gas gets more expensive and less available. This blog has often highlighted how the Administration’s cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline was going to directly hurt American workers, but these decisions are about more than lost jobs.  Their impact extends to nearly every American household that wants to simply climb in a car and visit family, only to find that their gas tanks are now as empty as the Biden Administration’s energy promises.