THE HILL • July 13, 2022
Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) on Wednesday clashed with a gas lobbyist, who argued that Democratic attacks against Big Oil are counterproductive to efforts to bring down prices at the pump. During a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Energy Subcommittee, King called out top oil companies, which reportedly made $35 billion dollars in the first few months of the year, for profiting amid economic pain felt by many Americans. Facing Republican calls for the Biden administration to award additional drilling permits to expand domestic production, the White House has argued that thousands of existing permits are going unused, and oil companies could expand production if they so desired.