FIRST ON FOX – An influential, fiscally conservative and libertarian political advocacy group will work with gas stations across the country this week to remind Americans what the price at the pump was four years ago.
On Monday, Americans for Prosperity (AFP) will host the first of a series of events that will roll back gas prices from coast to coast "to get a pre-Bidenomics break at the pump." More than 20 gas stations will participate throughout this week, temporarily reducing prices to as low as $2.38 per gallon – near the average price per gallon of gas on the day President Biden assumed office.
"Biden’s war on American energy has had disastrous results and Americans are reeling from high gas prices going into the summer," said Akash Chougule, AFP vice president of government affairs.
"From shutting down the Keystone Pipeline to banning energy leases on federal land, Joe Biden’s top-down policies have stifled our country’s energy resources and made even the things like a family road trip more expensive," Chougule said in a statement. "This week, we are spotlighting what gas prices could be with policies that unleash our country’s energy potential."
PRICES AT THE PUMP DROPPED FOUR CENTS THIS WEEK DUE TO LOW OIL COSTS
The first AFP gas rollback event kicked off Monday at 11 a.m. at the Sunoco station at 7701 Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh, and the events will continue through May 29, closing at a gas station in Oregon located at 13488 SE Hwy 212. AFP expects at least 4,000 drivers to line up at gas stations this week to fill up their tanks at a bargain price.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Republican, will pump gas at one of the events in Wyoming this week, according to an AFP spokesperson.
"Since President Biden took office, his spending spree has resulted in the people of Wyoming paying nearly $1200 more a month for basic goods and services. I look forward to joining Americans for Prosperity of Wyoming for this gas rollback event where people will not only save at the pump, but be reminded of the real impact the Biden administration has on their pocketbooks," Lummis said in a statement to FOX Business.
Gas prices were not immune to the high inflation rates that have plagued Biden's term in office, which peaked at 9% in 2022 and have since declined to 3.4% – still well above the Federal Reserve's 2% target. The national average price for a gallon of gas was $3.59 as of Monday, more than 50% more expensive than when Biden took office in January 2021.
AS ENERGY PRICES SOAR, BIDEN ADMINISTRATION JACKS UP COSTS TO DRILL ON PUBLIC LANDS
Republicans have blamed Biden's policies for driving energy prices up, with costs climbing over 41% in the last four years, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Last month, the White House's top economic adviser said the Biden administration will "make sure gas prices remain affordable," as Biden campaigns for re-election in November.
"There are of course things that have been done in the past and we’ll continue to very closely monitor, make sure that gas prices remain affordable for so many American families going into the summer driving season," national economic adviser Lael Brainard said at Semafor's World Economy Summit in April, CNBC reported.
Gas prices did decline last week for the third consecutive week to a national average of $3.58 per gallon, according to GasBuddy data, which is collected from more than 12 million individual price reports covering 150,000 gas stations across the country. That is still more than a dollar more expensive per gallon than prices were when Biden entered the White House.
AAA on Thursday attributed the "glacial descent" of gas prices to weak domestic demand and oil costs below $80 per barrel.
"Barring some unforeseen event, this pokey drop in pump prices is not likely to change anytime soon," said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson. "There are seven states with county gas averages at less than $3 a gallon. This trend will likely accelerate as more gas outlets east of the Rockies drop their prices."
In previous attempts to keep gas prices under control, Biden has tapped the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for temporary relief. The White House released 180 million barrels from the SPR in 2022 when oil and gas prices surged during the initial months of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The reserve has been depleted to about 365 million barrels, its lowest level in decades, for which Republicans have lambasted the president.
Former President Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee in 2024, has hammered Biden over the cost of gas and promised to "drill, baby, drill" if he wins, to get prices back to where they were during the previous administration. Over Trump's four years in office, gas prices averaged $2.57 per gallon, although the last 10 months of Trump's term were impacted by the COVID pandemic and historically low demand for gas, which caused prices to nosedive.
White House senior adviser John Podesta indicated last month that Biden could release more barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve if gas prices surge before the election.
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"The president did it (release oil from SPR) before... and I think he wants to keep the price of gasoline affordable, and he will do what he can to make sure that happens," Podesta said at the BNEF Summit in New York.
He stopped short of saying there would be a release from the SPR any time soon.
Reuters contributed to this report.
