Energy Independence is Critical to National Security

Statement

The Biden Administration's refusal to protect American energy independence has rendered our country incapable of standing firm against Russia's aggression towards Ukraine.

It's no secret President Biden set out to diminish American energy independence from the start. From killing the Keystone XL pipeline and rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, to enacting his anti-fossil fuel agenda while simultaneously begging OPEC+ to produce more oil, the Biden Administration has weakened our energy industry in every way. Now, we are experiencing the consequences of this weakness in real time.

President Biden lost his leg to stand on. He emboldened Putin in weaponizing European energy by waiving sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and lobbying against having these sanctions reinstated. The President of the United States helped Putin in his effort to control the entire energy market which is a dangerous situation if he succeeds. In 2009, Russia single-handedly created an energy crisis by cutting off gas flow to Ukraine following a supply contract dispute. Why would he not do this again elsewhere?

President Biden's refusal to prioritize American producers makes the United States reliant on our adversaries, like Putin. The United States currently imports an average of 694,000 barrels of crude oil and petroleum from Russia per day. This is a 34 percent increase from when President Trump was in office and costs our country $22 million more per day. The Keystone XL Pipeline was expected to import roughly 830,000 barrels per day, which would have more than covered what we are importing from Russia. President Biden announced he was placing economic sanctions on Russia. If he is serious, he would stop these imports too and end his anti-fossil fuel rhetoric.

Oklahomans are already feeling the consequences of these international tensions. Due to the decrease in oil supply and disruptions in the flow, gas prices are the highest they have been in eight years. Further, there is a real threat of inflation rising as high as 10 percent if the conflict continues to escalate.

We are seeing a worst-case scenario play out in real life. Unfortunately, it did not have to be this way. America could be energy independent if we had a president that stood behind our energy suppliers and prioritized production here at home. What we are suffering is the direct consequence of President Biden's bad policy.

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