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Transcript/ScriptUS-Russia-Ukraine (TV)
HEADLINE: Biden Seeks Gas Tax Relief Amid War-amplified Price Hikes
TEASER: White House focuses on worldwide impacts of Ukraine conflict as fuel, food prices rise globally
PUBLISHED AT: 06/22/2022 9 p.m.
BYLINE: Anita Powell
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: the White House
VIDEOGRAPHER: AP
VIDEO EDITOR: Mary Cieslak
SCRIPT EDITORS: Jepsen, Mia Bush
VIDEO SOURCE (S): AP, AFP, ZOOM (WITH LICENSE)
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 3:23
VID APPROVED BY: Jepsen
TYPE:
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO: ))
[[The conflict in Ukraine, in its fourth month, is causing disruptions around the world – from what President Joe Biden terms a “Putin Price Hike” for American petroleum consumers to an impending global food crisis. On Wednesday, Biden said he was taking steps to try to offset the effects, something he said he’ll be focusing on as G-7 and NATO leaders meet next week in Europe for two key summits and an upcoming Mideast trip. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from the White House.]]
((NARRATOR))
President Joe Biden says he gets it that no one likes to spend more for essentials like fuel and food, but that painful price hikes are an inevitable result
of a brutal conflict on the other side of the world: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ongoing assault on Ukraine.
((Joe Biden, President))
“We cut off Russian oil into the United States and our partners in Europe did the same, knowing that we would see higher gas prices. We could have turned a blind eye to Putin’s murderous ways and the price of gas wouldn't have spiked the way it has. I believe that would have been wrong.”
((NARRATOR))
Gas prices have risen globally amid the conflict, due in part to tough sanctions on Russian oil and goods and the global pandemic, which has disrupted supply chains and productivity. Biden will meet with Saudi Arabian leaders in July in an effort to persuade
the global oil cartel to increase supply. And domestically, he’s calling for Congress to suspend the federal gas tax and for states to suspend their fuel taxes.
((NARRATOR))
His Republican opponents say they oppose it.
((Sen. John Thune, Republican))
“What the administration, of course, is coming up with is yet another gimmick, another Band-Aid, and something they know is dead on arrival up here in Congress.”
((BEGIN OPT))
((NARRATOR))
Putin also doesn’t appear to be backing down.
((Vladimir Putin, Russian President)) ((in RUSSIAN))
"We are proud that during the special military operation our fighters act with courage, professionalism, like real heroes. Russian soldiers of different nationalities fight shoulder to shoulder. In this unit, in the faith of correctness of their cause, in the enormous popular support which our soldiers feel, lies the great invincible force of Russia."
((END OPT))
((NARRATOR))
Analysts say Biden’s focus on the war’s economic impacts is critical to maintain public support.
((Radio: Kathleen McInnis is a senior fellow and director of the Smart Women, Smart Power Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies))
((Kathleen McInnis, Center for Strategic and International Studies)) ((courtesy ZOOM))
“It makes a lot of sense that Biden is focusing on the Putin price hike. It's because as the war progresses, we're seeing it impact different NATO economies in different ways. Right. And the price hikes at the gas pumps here in the United States is one key way. Well, how do you keep support for a war? How do you keep our allied public on board as the war goes on, and people are starting to feel it in different ways and feel it in their pocketbooks? That’s a big challenge for NATO and the United States.”
((NARRATOR))
The White House says higher prices aren’t the only casualty of war: Russia is also blocking exports of Ukrainian grain,
causing shocks around the world, as far away as Africa. That is likely to be a topic when leaders of the world’s seven wealthiest nations meet next week in Germany.
((Radio: John Kirby is coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council))
((John Kirby, National Security Council))
“President Putin is, no kidding, weaponizing food. Let’s just call it what it is: He’s weaponizing food. He’s got an essential blockade there in the Black Sea so that nothing can leave by sea — and that’s, of course, how Ukraine has historically gotten its grain to markets. And so the president is working with leaders around the world to see if there’s other overland ways we can do that.”
((BEGIN OPT FOR EURASIA SERVICES))
((NARRATOR))
Ukraine’s president says this support makes a difference as the nation continues to fight against Russian forces.
((Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President)) ((in UKRAINIAN))
“The lives of thousands of people depend directly on the speed of our partners – on the speed of how they implement their decisions to help Ukraine."
((END OPT))
But as this war grinds into a fifth month, who pays the highest price of all? Ordinary people.
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)the White House
Embargo DateJune 22, 2022 20:11 EDT
Byline((Anita Powell, VOA News, the White House))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
