The U.S. can meet its energy needs without Russia, White House economic adviser Heather Boushey told Axios at an event Wednesday, adding that a pivot toward clean energy could help keep Americans from paying high gas prices in the future.
Why it matters: Gas prices hit a record high on Tuesday at $4.173 per gallon. The U.S. on the same day banned imports of Russian oil in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Details: Boushey, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, acknowledged that Russia is an “important oil and gas producer,” adding that the U.S. is “also a significant producer of oil and gas, and we have the capacity to meet our own fossil fuel needs.”
Between the lines: Boushey touted Biden’s efforts to shift toward clean energy, saying that such a change will prevent the U.S. from being “subject to these global volatile prices that you see in fossil fuel prices, just like we are right now.”
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“Even as we, in the short term, deal with these price changes, we have to make sure that we get that kind of clean energy independence, because that’s going to create real economic security for families in the decades to come,” Boushey said.
Go deeper: Biden administration walks tightrope over gas prices
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