A writer recently laid the blame for high gas prices on President Joe Biden. The only group that controls gas prices is the gas and oil industry, not any U.S. president. The writer also claimed higher gas prices were the result of Biden’s not selling new leases. The facts are that more than half of the leases already in the hands of oil and gas companies are not being used to produce any gas and oil. Since the oil and gas producers decided to not step up production as demand increased, Biden has released even more oil leases.

Why would oil and gas producers not step up production to help out the recovery when demand increased dramatically? The answer is simple greed. One major producer said over 59 percent of investors said they wanted production to stay low in order to increase their dividend profits. All of our major oil and gas producers have taken this same approach, and it’s been fabulously profitable.

The House Democrats, without a single Republican vote, recently passed a bill to stop price gouging. That bill currently is in the Senate, where Republicans threaten to filibuster it so it will never go to a vote.

Hal Huestis

Eugene