Gas prices have skyrocketed in recent weeks and Speaker of the House John Boehner's providing a no-frills explanation to voters:it's all Obama's fault.
Obama has said in recent days that conflicts in the Middle East are to blame. But Boehner's not buying it. Between not passing the Keystone Pipeline and "scrapping leases for oil-shale development," Boehner writes the President's responsible for $5 gasoline. [Read: Tensions in Middle East Fan Fears of Sharp Gas Price Hikes.]
Boehner's office created a chart and timeline that lays out missed opportunities to lower energy costs.
"The Obama administration has spent more than three years blocking efforts to expand energy production and bring down gas prices, while pushing job-crushing tax hikes and taxpayer-backed loans to companies like Solyndra," Boehner's press release reads.
See the timeline below.
Feb. 4, 2009 – Just months after President Obama's Energy Secretary said, "Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe," the Obama administration begins "scrapping leases for oil-shale development" and cancels 77 leases for oil and gas production in Utah. Gas is $1.91 a gallon.
March 7, 2009 – ABC News says the White House is closely monitoring the expedited Solyndra loan project even as it was delaying new American energy production that would help make us less dependent on foreign energy. Gas is $1.94 a gallon.
June 27, 2009 - President Obama urges the Senate to adopt House Democrats' "cap and trade" national energy tax, the same one the president once admitted would cause electricity rates to "necessarily skyrocket." Then-GOP Leader Boehner later said the bill "would raise electricity prices, increase gasoline prices, and ship American jobs to countries like China and India." Gas is $2.50 a gallon.
Jan. 7, 2010 – The Obama administration announces new bureaucratic hurdles to American energy production that Secretary Salazar admitted "could add delays to the leasing and drilling process." Gas is $2.67 a gallon.
March 31, 2010 – Instead of opening new areas to energy exploration and development, President Obama blocks deep-ocean energy production on 60 percent of America's Outer Continental Shelf. Gas is $2.80 a gallon.
Dec. 1, 2010 – The president re-imposes and expands the moratorium on offshore energy production. Gas is $2.86 a gallon.
Jan. 2, 2011 – TIME reported that the Obama administration issued the first in a series of regulations on January 2 designed to unilaterally impose a national energy tax. Gas is $3.05 a gallon.
May 5, 2011 – The White House issues a formal statement opposing House-passed Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act and Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act, legislation designed to jumpstart American energy production, address rising gas prices, and help create new jobs. Gas is $3.96 a gallon.
June 21, 2011 - The White House opposes the House-passed Jobs & Energy Permitting Act that would unlock an estimated 27 billion barrels of oil and 132 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Gas is $3.65 a gallon.
Nov. 8, 2011 – The Obama Administration releases a plan for a five-year moratorium on offshore energy production, placing "some of the most promising energy resources in the world off-limits," according to the House Natural Resources Committee. Gas is $3.42 a gallon.
Jan. 18, 2012 – President Obama rejects the bipartisan Keystone XL pipeline and the more than 20,000 jobs that would come with it. Gas is $3.39 a gallon, and rising faster and earlier than ever before.
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