Democrats have engaged in some flights of energy fancy, experts say. For example, Rep. Steve Israel (D) of New York tweeted his remedies to higher gas prices: “Need sensible approach to lower gas prices: stop subsidies, fight speculation, tap into" the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service has already questioned the effect of stopping subsidies. Eliminating $4 billion in subsidies for a multitrillion dollar industry would result in impacts of only a “small scale,” it said.
Moreover, those effects would potentially raise prices, it added: Ending subsidies would “have the effect of decreasing exploration, development, and production, while increasing prices and increasing the nation's foreign oil dependence."
