John Cornyn: “as all of America knows, prices at the gas pump are skyrocketing. Over the weekend, the average gas price in Texas…”

“as all of America knows, prices at the gas pump are skyrocketing. Over the weekend, the average gas price in Texas exceeded $4 a gallon, and we typically have some of the cheapest gasoline in the country. We didn't even cross that line during the great recession of 2008. But we know that gas prices are not the only commodity that is growing and that family budgets are strained by. Consumers are also paying more for everything from groceries to clothes, to appliances. Folks in Texas and across the country want to know, what is President Biden's plan to address high gasoline prices? Last week, the President was, appropriately enough, asked this very question. His response? He said: Can't do much right now. Russia is responsible. That is a quote--``Russia is responsible.'' Well, people across the country know that the price of gasoline, the spike that we are experiencing now, preceded the invasion of Ukraine. Folks across the country can't afford to fill up their gas tanks to get to work, and the President points the finger at Vladimir Putin. Well, there is no question that the war in Ukraine exacerbated what was already an existing problem with the price of gasoline, but certainly it was not the cause of it. But the President conveniently omits the fact that gasoline prices were a problem long before Ukraine was attacked. For example, the week the President took office, Americans were paying an average of $2.38 a gallon.…”