“If the president wants to show real leadership he would stop listening to the extremes in his party, start funding the necessary infrastructure to develop our domestic natural resources and unleash the power of American energy,” U.S. Rep. Tom Reed said a statement Thursday.

The Corning Republican has been critical of Biden and his administration in recent weeks due to the spike in gas prices; the United States and its allies imposed steep sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, leading to the sudden jump in prices across the country.

In a bid to control energy prices, Biden on Thursday ordered the release of 1 million barrels of oil per day for six months from the country’s reserve. The Associated Press said the president also wants Congress to impose financial penalties on oil and gas companies that lease public lands but are not producing.

The AP said tapping the stockpile would create pressures that could reduce oil prices, though Biden has twice ordered releases from the reserves without causing a meaningful shift in oil markets.

President Joe Biden speaks about status of the country’s fight against COVID-19 in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus on Wednesday. AP photo

Prices at the pump have eased locally. According to AAA, which keeps daily tabs on gas prices, the average cost of fuel in Chautauqua County on Thursday was the lowest in Western New York at $4.284 per gallon. The cost was $4.304 in Cattaraugus and $4.358 in Erie County.

The average cost of fuel was $4.327 in New York state and $4.225 in the country, AAA said.

In past remarks, Reed has criticized the president for his handling of the country’s energy policies. At a press event outside a gas station in Bemus Point, Reed said he believes Biden had adopted bad energy policies that were forcing higher prices. Some of those include cutting off U.S. domestic supplies, cutting off access to development of federal and public lands, and stopping the construction of the Keystone Pipeline and other pipeline infrastructure.

“Remember, oil is a world commodity,” Reed said at the press event. “When you take what was the world’s largest potential producer of oil and natural gas in a direction where you want to cut off that supply and that supply development, it sends a signal to the market. The market is responding with the gas prices and the utility costs.”