Lowering America’s reliance on fossil fuels and increasing the country’s spending on renewable resources are the path to combat rising energy costs, President Biden said during his first State of the Union address Tuesday night.
Mr. Biden, although acknowledging that families’ pocketbooks have been hit hard by some of the highest inflation in four decades, declined to detail any significant immediate steps that the administration would take to mitigate rising prices at the gas pump.
He reiterated that the U.S. will release 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as part of a global effort from oil-producing countries to release a total of 60 million barrels and ease energy prices amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We stand ready to do more, if necessary, unified with our allies,” Mr. Biden said. “These steps will help blunt gas prices here at home.”
The president contended that energy costs could be cut far more — an average of $500 per family — by focusing on combating climate change.
“Let’s provide investments and tax credits to weatherize your homes and businesses to be energy efficient and you get a tax credit; double America’s clean energy production in solar, wind, and so much more; lower the price of electric vehicles, saving you another $80 a month because you’ll never have to pay at the gas pump again,” Mr. Biden said.
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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