Capitol Words a project of the Sunlight Foundation

Rep. Glenn Thompson

Mr. Speaker, everywhere I go, Americans are feeling the pinch of high gas prices. In response, the President has begun to claim he supports the Republicans' all-of-the-above energy policy. Although the words sound inclusive, a glance at the record suggests that President Obama really means none of the below.

The policy is none of the below on Federal lands. On average, the Bush and Clinton administrations leased more than 3 million acres for oil and gas development per year. The Obama administration has leased less than 2 million acres per year. On Federal lands, oil and gas production was down in the last year. There are now fewer offshore production facilities in Federal waters than have been for more than 50 years.

Do the President's policies matter for gas prices? The Washington Post argues that global oil prices are being driven up by a decline in global supply relative to the demand of about a million barrels of oil a day. That's a lot of oil. But let's keep that in perspective. It's less oil than the Keystone XL pipeline President Obama blocked could carry each day to U.S. refineries.