Fond Du Lac Times

Following the Biden administration's ban on fossil fuel imports from Russia, the Functional Government Initiative (FGI) is seeking greater transparency and clarification on the White House's energy policies, and how these are intended to tackle rising levels of inflation and cost of gas for Americans in Wisconsin and around the country. FGI has also expressed concern over reports that the administration may be considering easing sanctions on other authoritarian regimes in order to compensation for the loss of Russian imports.

As price of gas has risen to well over $4 per gallon, FGI is expressing concern over whether the administration is doing enough, and whether its energy policies are helping the situation, or making matters worse.

According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), as of March 21 the average price of gas in Wisconsin is $3.92, while the national average is $4.25.

"Last week we expressed our concerns regarding the reluctance to sanction the Russian energy market and announced that we would be seeking information surrounding that decision," FGI spokesman Peter McGinnis said in a news release. “However, the current situation creates the fear that we may be moving from funding Russia’s war machine to paying the dictator in Venezuela and the state sponsors of terrorism in Iran. The concerns of the Functional Government Initiative remain. We will continue working to expose the dysfunction of government and investigate the impact of today’s energy policy on our foreign policy and near-record levels of inflation.”

In addition, FGI announced on Feb. 25 it is asking for greater transparency in the following areas: the possibility of using emergency powers to take action against the rising cost of fuel; initiating a probe into the practices of the energy and meat industries; and executive decisions leading to the halting of new oil pipeline projects, as well as the cessation of mining operations in the country. FGI is also questioning Biden's decision to renominate Jerome Powell as Chair of the Federal Reserve, following a year of historically high inflation rates.

The Biden administration is certainly not oblivious to the dissatisfaction that is growing among the middle class due to high prices and particularly the high price of gas. The administration is taking several actions, including the release of millions of gallons from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

American officials have also reportedly started communications with the governments of Venezuela and Iran, which could lead to the easing of current sanctions against these two countries. Sanctions were imposed on Venezuela in 2019 over human rights abuses perpetrated by the regime of President Nicolas Maduro, while Iran has been the subject of U.S. and U.N. sanctions since 1987, both over its pursuit of nuclear weapons technology and the regime's sponsorship of international terrorism. These sanctions have been expanded numerous times since then.

Meanwhile, several legislators have spoken out against the administration's energy policies. Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) said the Biden administration is to blame for the surge in fuel costs, as well as the rise in inflation. On March 8, he wrote, "By effectively shutting down our own supply of critical oil and gas, the Biden administration increased our reliance on foreign countries for our energy needs, increased global emissions, and increased gas prices for American families."

FGI is a nonpartisan organization that works to demand transparency and integrity from government agencies and elected officials, while promoting shared values and beliefs of working Americans.