The news that Saudi Arabia's planned slashing of oil production could lead to higher gas prices in the U.S. is frustrating, Neil Chatterjee told Newsmax on Monday, because the Biden administration ignores the nation's means to be energy independent.
"How many times are we going to go through this exercise where we make ourselves dependent on these sometimes-adversarial regimes for our energy when we have a robust domestic supply here at home," Chatterjee, former chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in the Trump administration, told "American Agenda."
"I am so frustrated that the [Biden] administration continues to try and placate its environmental base rather than focusing on the needs of American consumers, who are already being hurt by inflationary prices."
Chatterjee said he finds it ironic that Biden is refusing to utilize America's vast energy resources because of environmental concerns.
"We do it cleaner and better than anywhere else in the world," he said. "It is so frustrating to me that we repeatedly find ourselves in this kind of situation where we're dependent on OPEC+."
Chatterjee said he is on board with the U.S. trying to reduce its carbon emissions.
"But we need to do it in a smart way, a strategic way," he said. "Not a political way. What we need to do is focus on American energy, domestic energy production here, let markets function, let consumers get what they're demanding.
"What you'll find is not only will that help the economy, not only would that help American consumers, it will also help the environment. Smart energy policy is smart environmental policy. These guys are trying to force their politics onto this situation, and it's doing more harm than good."
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