Would you knowingly pump Russian gasoline into your car’s fuel tank?

Would you knowingly pump Russian gasoline into your car’s fuel tank? Americans would overwhelmingly and emphatically say, “No way!” However, believe it or not we are currently pumping Russian gasoline into our cars. The reasons behind this shocking fact are surprising.

The United States is currently the world’s largest producer of oil. We pump about 12 million barrels of oil each day. Since a barrel contains 42 gallons, that is a lot of oil. However, there is a problem. Americans are also the world’s largest consumers of oil. We currently burn approximately 20.5 million barrels of oil each day.

The United States must import oil to make up the difference between our production and consumption. Most of our imported oil comes from Canada, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia. But about 3 percent comes from Russia. Although that may not sound like a lot, it equals about 600,000 barrels of imported Russian oil each day. So yes, Russian oil is finding its way into our car’s gas tanks.

Led by Senator Manchin of West Virginia and Murkowski of Alaska, a growing bipartisan group of Capitol Hill legislators is calling for the United States to ban imports of Russian oil. Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina blasted imported Russian oil declaring it is “stained with Ukrainian blood.” Although the Biden administration says nothing is off the table, the administration worries that banning imported Russian oil would raise fuel costs and spur inflation.