While the pandemic has spurred demand, leading to increased energy prices, the Biden administration’s reliance on imports is a greater contributor to the increased costs of oil and gas said Jerry Simmons the president of The Domestic Energy Producers Alliance (DEPA) in a Dec. 23 interview on NTD’s “Capitol Report” program. NTD is an affiliate of The Epoch Times. On Nov. 23 the Biden administration announced that it would be taking oil out of the Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) in an effort to lower gas prices, which are at a 20-year high. “I believe that the White House probably said that a two-cent drop in gasoline prices nationwide was a result of that,” said Simmons, referring to the 15 million barrels that the Biden administration took out of the SPR. Simmons said taking oil out of the reserves will ultimately end up costing the taxpayer more, not saving money. According to …