Rep. Smith: Biden's petroleum release not a solution for high gas prices

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden announced the Department of Energy will release 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to lower energy costs.

The release is an effort to lower prices American consumers see at the pump and home heating bills. Other countries, including China, India and Japan, have also agreed to tap into their emergency petroleum reserves in an attempt to bring down gasoline prices.

Southeast Missouri congressman Jason Smith is not impressed.

"Releasing three days worth of oil and begging foreign countries to send us more are nothing more than attempts to reverse the bad headlines surrounding his failed leadership," Smith said in a statement to the Southeast Missourian.

In 2020, the U.S. averaged about 18.12 million barrels per day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

In his statement, Smith blamed Biden's policies and "Green New Deal Agenda" for skyrocketing gas prices and high costs of goods.

The average cost of regular vehicle fuel in the U.S. rose from $2.11 to $3.40 in the past year, according to the American Automobile Association. Average regular fuel prices nearly doubled in Missouri within the same time frame, rising from $1.76 to $3.06.

"If he truly wanted to lower gas prices and inflation, he would abandon his party's reckless agenda and return to President Trump's America First energy policies," Smith said.

The government will begin to move barrels into the market in mid to late December, The Associated Press reported.

In his televised announcement Tuesday, Biden said the U.S. and other countries' combined efforts to lower gas prices will not solve the problem overnight, but it will make a difference.

"It will take time, but before long, you should see the price of gas drop where you fill up your tank," Biden said.