Nantahala News

In light of the Biden administration's announcement of an immediate ban  on all U.S. imports of Russian oil, the Functional Government Initiative  (FGI) is worried about the  impact of President Biden's energy policies on rising energy costs in the U.S.

“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 statement March 9. "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.”

FGI  continues to  be concerned about the current energy policies the White  House has in  place. The nonpartisan organization is confident its late  February investigation will yield vital results and help them to better  understand the energy priorities of the federal government.       

 FGI announced on February 25 that it is seeking full  transparency from government agencies on the  following areas: actions to  slow gas price hikes using emergency  powers; calls for investigating  the meat and energy industries; Efforts  to hinder domestic fossil fuel  production, halt pipeline approvals,  and shut down American mines; and  considerations behind the decision to  re-nominate a Federal Reserve  Chairman who has presided over 40-year  highs in inflation.   

 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.        

According to FGI ,American  officials have reportedly started communication  with the Venezuelan  government that may lead to easing of economic  sanctions. These  sanctions were originally placed on Venezuela in 2019  after numerous  human rights abuses committed by the government under  Putin's close  ally Nicolas Maduro. Communication with Iran, the world’s  prime state  sponsor of terrorism, also persists which may ease sanctions  on the  Iranian oil sector.                   

 The effects of energy  prices spread across every sector of  the economy. As fuel prices  continue to rise and widespread inflation  continues to afflict American  families, FGI says it is committed to  investigating how energy policy  affects America's influence abroad and  Americans’ pocketbooks at home.             

U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) believes the  Biden  administration is to blame for where the country stands today amid  high  energy prices. 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."  

 As of March 15 the average gas price in North Carolina was $4.17 per gallon, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).