Economy

Connecticut Democrat Jim Himes is pessimistic about near-term relief from sky-high gas prices as the national average nears $5 a gallon. Rep. Himes, a supporter of President Biden, says the administration's options are limited.

"There's really almost nothing that the Biden administration could do today that would have an impact on near-term energy prices," said Himes, the chairman of the House Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth. 

His Republican counterpart on the committee is ranking member Rep. Bryan Steil, Republican of Wisconsin, and the two joined CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett on "The Takeout" podcast this week.  Steil thinks the administration could do more to bring energy prices down.

"I think we need to change course on our energy policy and unleash American energy to lower those costs," Steil told Garrett. He argues that ramping up domestic oil and gas production and restarting the Keystone XL pipeline project could ease prices, even though it would be years before oil flowing through the pipeline would hit the market. 

Those moves, Steil argued, could give investors confidence. "They've pulled back because they're concerned about obtaining full permits to get from exploration into full production."

Himes fears such policies would just lead to environmental catastrophe. "If we just decided to do what some of my Republicans want to do, which is burn all the coal, burn all the gas, burn all the petroleum. Good luck for the next generation that'll be dealing with the problems of climate change."

Their committee was created by Nancy Pelosi in 2020 to tackle wealth disparities in the U.S. economy. A Wall Street Journal poll released earlier this week found that 83% of Americans are unsatisfied with the current state of the economy. 

The congressmen also touched on gun violence, after recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas. 

Himes, whose district borders the site of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, wants to see Congress take action on gun control. He'd like to see expanded background checks for gun purchases, an idea that is supported by a majority of Americans and currently under consideration in Congress. "Not only should we study it, by the way, let's have an honest conversation about this."

But Steil is skeptical of federally funded studies of gun violence. "I think the broad concern is whether or not we're going to see a biased report from a federal agency rather than an unbiased report."

Highlights from this week's episode

• Himes on long-term solutions to illegal immigration: "At the end of the day, what is going to solve the illegal immigration problem in the long run is going to be to do away with the economic incentive for people to come here. Right. That means cracking down on people who were hiring the undocumented illegally. It means it means and I know that this is dull and hard to talk about, but it's true. It means working with countries like El Salvador and Honduras to turn them into places that people want to stay in. In the long run. That's what's going to fix our border issue." 
• Steil on immigration: "The United States is always going to be a beacon of hope, pulling people in, having people wanting to come to the United States, that's positive. We have to be able to control who comes in a legal and orderly manner, and we have to hold businesses accountable that are hiring and employing illegal immigrants, as the chairman noted."
• Himes on the oil and gas industry: "The reality today is and this is not disputable, is that the energy companies who make their investment decisions, not based on what the guy in the Oval Office is doing, but based on their forecast of economic markets. They are sitting on unused leases. They are doing the same investment plans that they planned to do five years ago. They are making decisions based on the market, dropping away dividends."
• Steil on whether mass shootings are just something we have to live with: "We should not live with one mass shooting. The challenge is what are the policies we need to put in place to address it? I've offered three that I think we come together on to address this crisis. I think we could come together. I think there's areas of agreement and particulars relates to school resource officers. The relates to mental health and as relates to getting serious on gun crime writ large."

Supply chain issues have delayed delivery of new ambulances for the Salem Lakes Fire Department, while hundreds of emergency calls continue to wear out existing vehicles.

Now recent inflation is making matters worse.

Congressman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., was informed of the problem during a tour of the department’s Fire/Rescue Station No. 1 on Wednesday.

Salem Lakes Fire Chief James Lejcar said he ordered two ambulances about a year ago and was told the manufacturer is having difficulty getting the needed chassis. The department may have to wait until a 2023 model is available.

“We need to figure this out,” Lejcar said. “That would be the No. 1 problem I have on my docket today. We’re up 800 calls in the last two years. We’re running the wheels off these things, but we still need to get grandma to the hospital.”

Steil said he has heard similar concerns from representatives of other law enforcement and emergency personnel departments.

“You’re not the only one,” Steil said. “That has been a huge challenge, not only for fire departments, but for police departments as well.”

While the microchip shortage has received a lot of attention, Steil said the pandemic has also exposed how dependent the United States is on other countries in general.

“We’ve got to be producing stuff here in the United States,” Steil said. “If China wants to shut down Shanghai that shouldn’t have an impact on the U.S. We’re realizing it does.”

It is a matter of national security, Steil said.

“The more we onshore this in the United States, the better off we are,” he said. “The microchips are a big piece of it, but it runs the gamut, including things like the chassis.”

County, region ‘on the front lines’

Steil said Kenosha County and the southeast Wisconsin region are “on the front lines” and at-the-ready to help meet the demand for manufacturing.

“I think it’s a real opportunity,” Steil said, adding companies are choosing Kenosha County for its workforce and its infrastructure. “We have made progress to restructure the tax code, but there’s still more progress we can make.”

Steil said he is also concerned about how the inflation rate is impacting the cost of new emergency vehicles.

“I assume when you go out to buy an ambulance, the cost is up 15, 20, 30 percent,” he said.

Lejcar confirmed that, if the department “didn’t hit a particular date” on the purchase of its most recent piece of equipment it would have cost between 17 and 23 percent more.

Inflation’s impact

“My biggest fear is how this inflation is clobbering everybody,” Steil said. “You literally can’t talk to someone who hasn’t been impacted by higher grocery prices, higher gas prices, higher car prices, right down the list. There is no relief in the near future. We’ve got to dramatically change what’s going on in D.C.”

Steil said the rate of inflation also makes the department’s “Plan B” of refurbishing its existing equipment more costly.

Salem Lakes firefighter Artur Stypula, who works in the insurance business, said 2010 Freightliners purchased used five years ago for $20,000 are being insured for $60,000 because you can’t buy them for less than $70,000 now.

“And, of course, trucking affects everybody,” Stypula said.

Steil said the federal government has a lot of work to do “to unwind this and to get our way of life back.”

“The spending that’s going on in Washington, the debt we’ve got and rising costs and the energy policy on top of that. . .” Steil said, shaking his head. “It’s been two difficult years.”

Letter to EPA

The same day Steil toured the Salem Lakes firehouse, he sent a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan regarding “policies that are leading to energy scarcity and higher prices.”

These include the New Source Performance Standards for the Oil and Natural Gas Sector and the revocation of a 2020 policy regarding power plants, Steil said.

“Both threaten to raise the cost of oil and gas production and transmission and power generation,” the letter reads. “Just as importantly, they send a message to American producers that discourages investment here.”

More broadly, Steil said the Biden administration has pursued “a concerning international energy agenda” that increases the nation’s “reliance on hostile and unstable countries like Russia and contribute to higher prices.”

“Gasoline prices are up 48 percent since last March, electricity prices are up 11 percent, and natural gas is up 21.6 percent,” the letter reads. “American families are feeling the pain of high energy costs and they demand action from Washington. I look forward to your explanation of how the EPA plans to help address this challenge.”

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Fox News. Brooke Singman