Cabarrus Today

The Biden administration's latest move concerning high gas prices has been to invoke the Defense Production Act, which concerns electric vehicles, not American energy production.

This is drawing the ire of the Functional Government Initiative (FGI) and is fueling its latest government investigation.

According to FGI, "The Functional Government Initiative is a new organization dedicated to improving the American public’s awareness about the officials, decisions and priorities of their government."

According to a post on the FGI website, the nation had its second month of record gasoline prices, and inflation remained at a four-decade high, leading the Biden administration to invoke the Defense Production Act, a move that is intended to ease supply chain hurdles for components used to make electric vehicles. FGI said the move pushes the public toward choosing electric vehicles.  

“Exploring the expansion of domestic extraction of minerals is a good step because it may create jobs for the next generation of American workers, but it does not tackle the current fuel crisis,” Peter McGinnis, a spokesman for the organization, said on its website. “We are on month two of ‘We will do everything we can to lower gas prices,’ yet nothing of substance has been done to accomplish that -- as you can see every time you fill up your tank. Along with inflation in general, energy prices are crushing the American dream. FGI will continue its investigation of which special interests are dictating the government’s handling of this energy crisis.”

The FGI, which continues to rail against high gasoline prices, noted on its website that the Biden administration will direct funds to private projects for studies to determine the prospects of extracting minerals used to make batteries for electric vehicles. The organization noted that while this move could ease the nation’s dependence on China, it may not ease inflation or gasoline prices. 

According to the FGI website, the Biden administration’s move to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is seemingly the foundation of its plan to lower gasoline prices, but FGI is pushing for reconsideration of pipeline infrastructure and oil and gas leases. 

Questions remain over special interest groups that may be swaying the government’s policies to move away from dependence on fossil fuels amid an ongoing energy crisis. Related to these alleged issues, FGI continues to investigate and seek government documents.

North Carolina motorists continue to feel the pain at the pump, with the price of a gallon of gas currently at $3.82, up from $2.63 a gallon a year ago, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).