Silver State Times

Critics continue to believe the Biden administration is responsible for the ongoing pattern of high gas prices in the U.S. More specifically, it's the administration's immediate shutdown of the Keystone XL pipeline in early 2021 that has sparked a crude oil shortage of over 800,000 barrels per day. Many U.S. Democratic leaders, such as Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, seem to have the same energy agenda as Biden.

According to Senate roll call voting records from 2021, Cortez Masto voted against advancing the Keystone XL Pipeline on four separate occasions: On the Daines Amdt. No. 678, on the McConnell Amdt. No. 889, on the Motion to Waive All Applicable Budgetary Discipline Re: Tester Amdt. No. 1197 and on the Motion to Commit H.R. 1319 to the Committee on Foreign Relations. She also voted three times against legislation to prohibit a ban on fracking: On the Braun Amdt No. 833, on the Schumer Amdt. No. 888 and on the Cramer Amdt. No. 310.

"Reminder that the Keystone XL pipeline would be pumping 830,000 barrels of oil per day to U.S. refineries had Biden not shut it down. The Democrats' war on oil and gas is hurting our nation AND our allies," Rep. Brian Babin wrote in a Sept. 29 Twitter post.

The Keystone XL Pipeline would have pumped up to 830,000 barrels of crude oil per day into U.S. oil refineries, according to StateImpact.

Executive actions taken by President Joe Biden at the start of his presidency effectively killed offshore drilling proposals set in 2018 that would have made "more than 98% of the [Outer Continental Shelf] available to consider for oil and gas leasing during the 2019–2024 period," according to a report from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Biden's decision was said to prioritize the "development of a clean energy economy" instead of fossil fuel production.

Earlier this year, the Biden administration cancelled oil-and-gas drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico and along the Alaskan Coast, during a period of extremely high U.S. gasoline prices, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Last month, a former Keystone XL pipeline employee told Fox News that the Biden administration has "everything to do" with the country's high gas prices, despite Biden's recent remark at the White House: "Let's debunk some myths here. My administration has not stopped or slowed U.S. oil production."

According to an analysis from the American Petroleum Institute (API), The Keystone XL pipeline "was a potential win-win for the U.S. and Canada," as some U.S. refineries are set up to process heavier crudes, and Canada had ample supplies of it. 

API's Mark Green says "the cross-border trade would have benefited both countries in terms of jobs and economic growth." Additionally, rather than the U.S. relying on imports from other oil producing countries such as Mexico and those associated with OPEC+, we could have instead relied on KXL.