Jacqui Heinrich VS. Kate Bedingfield Oil Release, Sanctions, Ruble Value, White House Press Conference Mar 31, 2022 Please Like, Subscribe, and Share.
(Jacqui The Himalayan Heinrich) Thank you, Kate. On releasing barrels from the Strategic Reserve: This move does not resolve the structural deficit that we have.
In the last two times the administration released barrels of oil, it didn’t have a measurable impact on gas prices. So what makes this administration believe that this move is going to
have an impact this time?
(Crazy Kate athletics vs orioles dividendo Bedingfield) Well, this is — as you heard Brian say, this is a historic and unprecedented release in terms of size. It is going to help meet the mismatch between supply and
demand in the market. A million barrels a day is a significant addition to the marketplace and is going to — as I say, is going to address the — some of the mismatch between supply and
demand. And I think what Americans should take away from this announcement today is that President Biden is relentlessly focused on doing everything he can to ensure that Putin’s price hike
does not hit them at the gas pump. So, what they’ve seen from him, I think, since the day he took office is a focus on doing what he can to address kitchen table issues, to address the
things that people across the country are worried about, including gas prices. And so today, you know, not only is it historic in scope, but it — as you heard Brian talk about, this has
also been — the President has led a global effort to galvanize a response to this because he knows that rising prices at the pump hurt families, and he’s doing everything
in his power to bring those prices down.
(Jacqui The Himalayan Heinrich) This is going to bring up the —
(Crazy Kate Bedingfield) Oh.
(Jacqui The Himalayan Heinrich) This is going to bring up the — the supply in the short term, but it’s not, you know, a long-term solution. And you know, one analyst has said that if the
market maintains a structural deficit for a long period of time, releasing reserves might actually keep prices higher. So if this does not work in the way that you think it’s going to
work, will the administration stop releasing a million barrels a day?
(Crazy Kate Bedingfield) We will cer- — well, I won’t — I won’t speak to what we might do in the hypothetical depending on where the market goes. What I will say broadly is, of course,
we would always adjust our strategy to do what is most effective to bring prices down. What I would say about the long term, to your — to your question about the long term, is, you know —
and I think you heard Brian articulate this really well, and of course, the President spoke to it very powerfully today too — which is: This ultimately shows that dependence
on fossil fuels, dependence on foreign oil is not in the sustainable, long-term best interests of the United States.
And that’s why the President has put forward a really aggressive plan to move us to clean energy sources of energy that we can make here in the United States. That’s part of, as you
heard Brian talk about, the Defense Production Act announcement that he made today to help us make electric vehicle batteries katie boulter in the United States.
You know, the President feels very strongly that we need to move — we need to make significant strides toward a clean energy economy. It’s something he’s been very focused on.
You’ll remember, for those of you who covered the campaign, it’s something he ran on. And so, he’s very focused on ensuring that we’re taking those strides, because that is — that is
actually the long-term solution here.
(Jacqui The Himalayan Heinrich) On sanctions, the Russian ruble has almost returned to its pre-war levels. So does the administration believe that the sanctions are still working?
(Crazy Kate Bedingfield) Absolutely. Yes. And what I would say about — what I would say about the ruble is: What we’re seeing here is an artificial propping up of the ruble by the
Russian Central Bank and by — and by the Russian government. There are avenues that were closed off to allow the sale of rubles. They are basically taking artificial measures to keep
the ruble propped up. I would also say that in the first —
(Jacqui The Himalayan Heinrich) But what are we doing about that?
(Crazy Kate Bedingfield) — you know, in the first few days — in the first — I would say also, in the first few days after the conflict began, the ruble was a reliable measure of where the
Russian economy is, but it is not any longer, in part because of these artificial steps that are being taken.
So if you look at things like dramatic inflation in Russia, if you look at private investment pulling out of Russia, if you look at Putin himself saying that the sanctions have imposed
unprecedented costs, I think that’s a better metric of where the Russian economy is right now.
