Obama: No 'Silver Bullet' on Gas Prices

He announces task force to investigate fraud by speculators
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 21, 2011 6:30 PM CDT
President Obama Announces Federal Task Forces to Investigate Fraud by Speculators in Gas Prices
President Obama shakes hands as he leaves a town hall meeting at ElectraTherm, a renewable energy company in Reno, Nev.   (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

As President Obama continues his short trek on the West Coast, one issue continues to gain traction, reports Politico—those ever-rising gas prices. Today in Reno, the president announced that a new Justice Department task force will investigate whether speculators are manipulating gas and oil prices, notes the Christian Science Monitor. “We are going to make sure that no one is taking advantage of the American people for their own short-term gain,” he said at a town hall.

Obama added, however, that "there is no silver bullet that can bring down gas prices right away" and warned against politicians "waving three-point plans for $2 gas." The US average hit $3.84 this week, and Obama is hearing it from both parties. A group of 17 Democrats has urged him to tap into the federal Strategic Petroleum Reserve, notes the Los Angeles Times, and Republicans are pushing for increased domestic drilling. (More gas prices stories.)

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