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A chart shared on social media tracks the Biden administration’s policies that have led to rising fuel prices since he took office on January 20, 2021, to the present.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) posted the image on Twitter with a tweet that reads, “President Biden doesn’t want you to see this chart!”
Fuel prices: Biden’s or Putin’s fault?
According to the data contained in the image, fuel prices hovered around $2.09 per gallon on the day of Biden’s inauguration, when he executed the first measure at issue: the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline.
It was followed on January 27, 2021, when the newly inaugurated Democratic president suspended new leases for oil and gas extraction under the guise of climate change.
On February 19 of that year, Biden signed the United States back into the Paris Climate Agreement, and on May 7 he further limited the possibility of oil and gas extraction. On June 1, he completed the move by halting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, known as ANWR, to extraction.
On June 30, the Democratic-majority Congress reinstated rules aimed at limiting greenhouse gas emissions that President Trump had relaxed.
Later on Oct. 7, the Biden White House reversed rules on how companies conduct environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that were modified by the Trump administration.
In November, Biden issued a moratorium measure and proposed a 20-year ban on oil drilling in New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon.
Until then, gasoline prices had already begun to rise and, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), in December 2021 it was already close to $3.34 per gallon nationwide.
In February 2022, when Russia’s invasion against Ukraine began, the fuel price had reached $3.44 per gallon. Today it is already around $4.76.
The chart is intended to disprove the official argument that fuel prices are rising solely as a result of Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukrainian territory.
Tomás Lugo, journalist and writer. Born in Venezuela and graduated in Social Communication. Has written for international media outlets. Currently living in Colombia // Tomás Lugo, periodista y articulista. Nacido en Venezuela y graduado en Comunicación Social. Ha escrito para medios internacionales. Actualmente reside en Colombia.