Coconino News

In the wake of President Joe Biden’s announcement that the U.S. would ban all imports of Russian oil and natural gas, the Functional Government Initiative (FGI) has expressed concerns about the administration's policies, and their potential effects on energy costs for Arizonans and other Americans.

According to the American Automobile Association, the current cost of gas in Arizona is $4.61 per gallon.

FGI, a nonpartisan organization that advocates for openness and integrity from government agencies and officials, announced Feb. 25 that it is seeking more transparency from the government on actions being taken to slow gas price hikes using emergency powers. The FGI also expressed concern for the government’s foreign policy and its impact on the economy, and planned an investigation to better understand Biden’s energy policies.

“Last week, we expressed our concerns regarding the reluctance to sanction the Russian energy market and announced that we would be seeking information surrounding that decision,” Peter McGinnis, a spokesman for FGI, said in a statement issued March 9. “However, the current situation creates the fear that we may be moving from funding Russia’s war machine to paying the dictator in Venezuela and the state sponsors of terrorism in Iran. The concerns of the Functional Government Initiative remain. We will continue working to expose the dysfunction of government and investigate the impact of today’s energy policy on our foreign policy and near-record levels of inflation.”

American officials have reportedly been in communication with the Venezuelan government, which could result in the easing of economic sanctions that were enacted in 2019 as a result of numerous human rights abuses committed by President Nicolas Maduro. The U.S. reportedly is also still in contact with Iran, which FGI called “the world’s prime state sponsor of terrorism,” which could ease sanctions on the Iranian oil sector, FGI stated.

With skyrocketing fuel prices and inflation, FGI said it was committed to investigating how the Biden Administration’s energy policy affects America's influence around the world and the impact on families at home.

Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) stated on his website that the Biden administration is at fault for rising energy costs. 

"By effectively shutting down our own supply of critical oil and gas, the Biden administration increased our reliance on foreign countries for our energy needs, increased global emissions, and increased gas prices for American families," he said in a post March 8.