Manchin Calls on US to Bolster Energy Sector After OPEC+ Slashes Production

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is repeating his calls for the United States to increase its energy production after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries plus Russia (OPEC+) made a decision to reduce its own output.

Since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, the cost of gasoline and other energy sources to consumers has seen a substantial uptick.

Republicans have placed the blame for rising costs squarely on Biden’s “anti-American” domestic energy policies.

While in office, Biden made extensive changes to the energy policies of President Donald Trump, who led America to become energy independent for the first time in decades. Biden, who promised during his campaign to “transition away from the fossil fuel industry,” wasted no time in halting construction on the Keystone XL pipeline and placing a moratorium on leasing federal lands to natural gas and oil companies.

In an effort to get prices under control, Biden in November 2021 made the decision to withdraw millions of barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, an emergency energy reserve intended for use during wartime or global calamities.

Extenuating the effects of Biden’s climate and energy policies is collusion by OPEC+ and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, both of which have led to further rising costs.

‘Blessed With Abundance’

Republicans have long been vocal in their criticism of these policies, and Republicans have made energy costs a key campaigning point. In the past, Manchin has made clear that he largely agrees with Republicans on the issue, and has long called on the White House to change course.

Now, Manchin is repeating these calls in light of a decision by OPEC+ to substantially reduce production.

On the morning of Oct. 5, OPEC+ announced that it would be cutting its oil production by two million barrels a day—a slice in production

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