Pelosi Says Democrats Have “A Lot to Brag About” as McCarthy Explains Why Oil Below $100 Doesn’t Mean Lower Gas Prices

On 3/19/2022, Pelosi said “Democrats have done a great job. We must take great pride in what we have done. We’ve got a lot to brag about” — as consumer sentiment hit an 11-year low. McCarthy’s team explained why crude oil dropping below $100 per barrel hadn’t translated to lower gas prices, detailing how Democrats’ own policies — from killing Keystone to pressuring banks not to lend to energy companies — had systematically crippled the supply chain. McCarthy noted California had lost 89,000 barrels per day under Governor Newsom, with Putin gaining the difference.

”A Lot to Brag About”

Pelosi’s claim drew immediate contrast with reality. “Yesterday in the Speaker’s press conference, she made some remarkable statements. She said, ‘Democrats have done a great job. We must take great pride in what we have done. We’ve got a lot to brag about,’” a Republican noted.

“I just think they’re so out of touch, even from that statement itself. A recent poll showed that American consumer sentiment has shrunk for the fifth time in the past six months — nearly an 11-year low,” the lawmaker said. “Everywhere else, Americans are spending money, they’re paying the highest prices in living memory. And inflation, which is a tax on every single American, shows no signs of stopping.”

Federal Reserve Chair Powell had said he expected “inflation to stay high for months.” The lawmaker projected: “By the end of two years of President Biden’s presidency, families will be losing more than $6,000 in buying power because of inflation.”

Why Crude Down Doesn’t Mean Gas Down

A reporter asked why gas remained over $4 per gallon nationally despite crude oil dropping below $100 per barrel. McCarthy gave a detailed industry explanation.

“It just begins to show how they don’t understand the industry. Things don’t change overnight,” McCarthy said. “You’ve got to produce the oil, you sell the oil, you have to refine the oil, and you pass it through.”

He traced the supply chain problems to Democratic policy. “When he got into office, ending a pipeline — you add transportation costs. If you can’t move it by a pipeline, you’ve got to put it in a truck or a tanker. That costs a lot more,” McCarthy said.

”They Asked CEOs to Produce Less”

McCarthy revealed what happened when Democrats brought oil executives to testify. “When they called in all the CEOs, you know what their number one question was? They pledged to produce less,” McCarthy said. “So they took the advice of why they were called in — the questioning from the majority party: ‘Will you promise to produce less, like Europe?’”

“And where is Europe today?” McCarthy asked. “So now they want to turn around and blame them.”

The Capital Squeeze

McCarthy described a multi-front war on energy financing. “Not a committee that you would think is an energy committee, but a Financial Services committee — they ask the financial markets, ‘Will you pledge not to loan money to the energy industry?’” McCarthy said. “Then you don’t have the capital.”

“But what does the majority party turn around and say? ‘Well, these leases are not being moved.’ You understand the market — you get a lease, it takes three to seven years to develop it. There’s no guarantee there’s oil or gas underneath it. But then you go to your banker to try to get capital, but the majority committee is going after your capital not to loan you the money,” McCarthy said.

“I’ve never seen anything like this. They’ve made their platform to put the oil industry out of business in America and increase the business of Russia, Iran, and Venezuela.”

California: 89,000 Barrels Lost to Newsom

McCarthy cited his home state as a case study. “When Gavin Newsom came into office, he’s used his executive orders to shut down the ability to lease,” McCarthy said. “We produce 89,000 barrels a day in California less because of Gavin Newsom — a 20 percent decline.”

“But you know who gained it all? Because you still provided the oil — Putin. We now increased, you get 50,000 barrels a day from Russia instead of an American job with cleaner energy done in a more environmentally sound way, because of policies of Democrats,” McCarthy said.

Key Takeaways

Pelosi said Democrats had “a lot to brag about” as consumer sentiment hit an 11-year low and inflation showed “no signs of stopping.”
McCarthy explained why crude oil below $100 didn’t lower gas prices: killing pipelines added transportation costs, Democrats asked CEOs to “produce less,” and Financial Services Democrats pressured banks not to lend to energy companies.
California lost 89,000 barrels per day under Newsom — a 20% decline — with Russia gaining the difference.
Families were projected to lose $6,000 in buying power over Biden’s first two years due to inflation.
Democrats had shifted blame from “transitory” to “Putin’s fault” to “oil companies’ fault” — while voters saw through every excuse.

Transcript Highlights

The following is transcribed from the video audio (unverified — AI-generated from audio).

Democrats have done a great job. We’ve got a lot to brag about. Consumer sentiment has shrunk for the fifth time — an 11-year low.
Things don’t change overnight. You produce the oil, sell it, refine it, pass it through. If you can’t pipeline it, you truck it. That costs more.
When they called in CEOs, their number one question was: will you promise to produce less, like Europe? Where is Europe today?
Financial Services asked banks: will you pledge not to loan money to the energy industry? Then you don’t have the capital.
We produce 89,000 barrels a day less in California because of Newsom. Putin gained it.
They’ve made their platform to put oil out of business in America and increase the business of Russia, Iran, and Venezuela.

Full transcript: 1227 words transcribed via Whisper AI.