Democrats accuse oil companies of ‘rip off’ on gas prices

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats are accusing oil companies of “ripping off the American people” and putting profits before production as Americans suffer from higher gasoline prices amid the war in Ukraine. Oil executives, testifying before Congress for the second time in six months, responded that oil is a global market and that oil companies don’t dictate prices. The hearing comes as President Joe Biden has ordered the release of 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation’s strategic petroleum reserve for six months, a bid to control the higher prices. Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington blamed Biden for the higher prices.