House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today released the following statement after President Obama failed to announce a plan to increase American energy production to help lower gasoline prices but instead proposed spending $52 million on more federal regulations that will not ease the pain at the pump. This tired campaign to blame speculators for rising gasoline prices has been used by the President Obama year after year, yet the Administration has failed to address the real problem of rising gasoline prices: their stranglehold on America’s vast energy resources.

“President Obama is once again trying to change the subject and blame something other than his failed energy policies for the skyrocketing price of gasoline. His solution is more regulation, when in fact it’s his regulations that are stifling production. Today’s announcement is just another political ploy by this Administration meant to help President Obama’s poll numbers, not provide real relief to American families. Meanwhile, his Administration continues to enact policies that make America more reliant on unstable foreign energy and susceptible to price spikes in the volatile global oil market. President Obama has placed billions of barrels of American oil off-limits for production, while federal oil and natural gas production declined last year under his watch. The bottom line is we need more American energy production to help lower gasoline prices here at home but this Administration has been stanchly opposed to bringing more American energy online. If the President really wants to help American families he will start supporting job creating, pro-energy policies such as the bipartisan plan passed by House Republicans.”

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