House hearing with oil executives sets up partisan clash over gas prices

The House Energy and Commerce Committee Wednesday will grill a group of six major U.S. oil executives, with Democrats seeking to hold them "accountable" for allegedly fleecing Americans with high gas prices. 

Republicans, meanwhile, are expected to hammer the Biden administration's energy policies as they seek to pin the issue on Democrats ahead of the midterms. 

"We want to make clear to the American people that House Democrats are on the case," House Democratic Conference Chair Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Tuesday when asked by Fox News Digital what he hopes people will learn from the hearing. 

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Jeffries blasted energy executives for allegedly taking "record profits" and giving them to shareholders rather than cutting energy prices for consumers. He said they should "show some patriotism" and "lower gas prices" for Americans.

"Part of the job of the United States Congress is to hold people accountable," Jeffries said of the hearing. "Particularly in an environment where you have a war of aggression that is taking place in the Ukraine. And as a result of Putin's war of aggression, you have increased gas prices."

House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., on Tuesday said Democrats are just trying to distract from the real cause of increased energy prices. 

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"We will see Democrats try to pass the buck again in their hearing tomorrow, where they attempt to blame American oil producers and Russia for high gas prices," Stefanik said. "But make no mistake, the American people are smart. Joe Biden and House Democrats own this energy crisis."

The executives, who will be testifying remotely, will be BP America chairman and president David Lawler; Chevron Corporation chairman and CEO Michael Wirth; Devon Energy president and CEO Richard Muncrief; ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods; Pioneer Natural Resources CEO Scott Scheffield; and Shell USA president Gretchen Watkins.

The hearing starts at 10:30 a.m.

The main narrative expected from Democrats is that not only are U.S. oil companies riding a wave of high prices caused by Russia, but that they're not doing anything to decrease prices when they're able to do so. 

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"Yeah, they're gouging, in my opinion," House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said Tuesday. "The oil companies are… artificially keeping prices high so they can make more profits, and they just keep talking to their shareholders about the profits that they're making. And meanwhile, the American people are suffering. And they're blaming Ukraine. They basically use it as an excuse."

"In the long run, we have to move away from fossil fuels, obviously," Pallone added. "But in the short run, you know, they should really be producing more oil, and they're not. I mean, there's something like 9,000 leases that are not producing oil." 

Republicans, meanwhile, will hit the administration and Democrats for worsening the energy crisis. 

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Especially since the start of the Russian war on Ukraine, the GOP has focused on Biden's moves to block domestic oil pipelines, pause energy leases, and more. Rep. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., who sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee, told Fox News Digital that even amid the war, Biden still isn't doing enough on American energy independence. 

"Joe Biden has mastered one thing throughout his self-inflicted energy crisis: the blame game. He started off trying to stick American oil and gas with his bill, and now he wants us to believe Vladimir Putin is responsible for the continued rise," Mullin said. "States like mine have enough oil and natural gas to solve Biden’s energy disaster. But instead of turning to Oklahoma, this disgrace of an administration prefers to rely on unstable and untrustworthy adversaries for energy."

"President Biden’s failed energy policies have placed Green New Deal priorities ahead of American families, and the result is the skyrocketing gas prices that my constituents are now paying at the pump. This hearing is a chance to call attention to those failed policies and provide a roadmap back to American energy dominance," Rep. John Joyce, R-Pa., also a committee member, told Fox News Digital. 

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., told Fox News Digital that a combination of bad policies from the administration and the signals they send are fundamentally driving up prices. 

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"Whatever energy company is out there, you know you've got an administration that is not aligned with your interest. So, therefore, they don't want to invest a lot because it's risky," he said. "When you cut the number of leases… they're not doing permits on natural gas terminals right now, they cut pipelines – put it all together, that perception of supply is there's less of it. And markets are driven by perception."

The Biden administration recently said that it will release one million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve per day for the next six months in an effort to decrease gas prices. It's also reversed course on gas pipeline approvals, which earned praise from Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., last month. 

But it has done little to reduce what Americans are paying at the pump. Average nationwide gas prices Tuesday were $4.176 per gallon, not far off from the record of $4.331 set on March 11, according to AAA.

Fox News' Chad Pergram contributed to this report.