Oil industry groups hit back at President Joe Biden on Monday threatening a possible windfall tax or other consequences if oil companies do not invest in boosting U.S. output and lowering consumer prices. The president, arguing in remarks Monday that oil companies’ recent gains were an “unexpected war” in Ukraine, urged them to direct some of the gains to boosting U.S. production and refining and to lower gas prices seen by Americans. He said he believed they had “a responsibility to act in the best interests of their consumers, their community and their country”. BIDEN TACKLES OIL COMPANY PROFITS, THREATS INCREDIBLE TAXES AS PUNISHMENT “If they don’t, they will pay a higher tax on their super profits and face other restrictions,” Biden said. “My team will work with Congress to review these options that are available to us and others. It’s time for these companies to stop war profiteering.” A view of the ExxonMobil Baton Rouge refinery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S., May 15, 2021. Exxon Mobil Corp. is considering a commitment to reduce net carbon emissions to zero by 2050, according to people familiar with the matter. I would like to (REUTERS/Kathleen Flynn/File Photo / Reuters Photos) In a statement Monday, American Petroleum Institute (API) President and CEO Mike Sommers said American families and businesses are “looking to lawmakers for solutions, not campaign rhetoric.” Somers also accused the Biden administration of taking credit “for every cent of lowering gas prices, but when prices go the other way, it starts pointing fingers” on a call with reporters Tuesday morning. He argued that “raising taxes on American energy is discouraging investment in new generation” in both the statement and the call with reporters, saying global markets set gasoline prices. He also told reporters “bad policies matter.” FORMER OBAMA FINANCIAL ADVISOR QUESTIONS QUESTIONS BIDEN-PROPOSES WONDERFUL PROFITS TAX While appearing on “Kudlow” this afternoon, Somers pushed back against Biden’s “war profiteering” comment. “The accusation they made against this industry — an industry that sanctioned itself and refused to take any more Russian crude at the beginning of this terrible war going on in Europe, an industry that pulled out of Russia on its own without bandits from the federal government — that to say that this industry, the most patriotic industry I know of in our country, would be war profiteering is an absolutely outrageous comment,” he said. American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Sommers Reacts to President Biden Threatening Big Oil Windfall Tax on ‘Kudlow’ Chet Thompson, CEO and president of American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, accused Biden of being “more concerned about political posturing” ahead of the midterms than “advancing energy policies that will actually work for the American people.” “A windfall tax may make good noise, but as a policy, it’s bad for consumers,” he said in a statement. “It is likely to discourage fuel production and make things worse for drivers.” President Joe Biden speaks during the Accelerating Clean Technology Innovation and Development event at the UN Climate Summit COP26, November 2, 2021, in Glasgow, Scotland. The administration makes its first onshore oil and gas lease sales (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool, File/AP Newsroom) Abdullah Hassan, a White House spokesman, gave a statement to FOX Business on Tuesday. “He’s rich coming from an industry that uses record profits to line shareholders’ pockets instead of boosting production and refining capacity so families can pay less for gas,” he said. Hassan, echoing some of Biden’s comments on Monday, said that “six of the biggest oil companies have made more than $100 billion in profits in the last six months alone,” before going on to say that they spent more than $50 billion of that on dividends and share repurchases. GET THE FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE “Of course they want to continue to profit in a time of war with impunity,” he continued. “But the president has been clear: if they don’t change their behavior, he will hold them accountable to protect the interests of American families.” Biden said Monday that the public would “hear more” on the issue “when Congress comes back.” A nozzle pumps gasoline into a vehicle at a gas station in Los Angeles, California on October 5, 2022. (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images) At press time, the national average price for regular-grade natural gas was $3,758, compared with $3,800 a month ago and $3,402 a year ago, according to AAA. In mid-June, AAA reported that the national average price for regular unleaded natural gas reached a record high of $5.016.
