By Congressman Markwayne Mullin
During the first days of his administration, President Joe Biden issued a series of reckless executive orders that directly attacked American energy. Unfortunately, these actions have even more problematic concerns beyond our borders.
In his executive orders, President Biden placed a moratorium on new oil and gas leasing and stopped construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. Both orders had numerous consequences, including killing thousands of jobs, raising energy costs, slowing economic growth, and putting American energy security at risk. Already, they have resulted in a net increase in crude oil imports of two million barrels per day.
By threatening our energy security, President Biden has failed to understand one major premise: American energy produces global stabilization.
American energy production not only bolsters our own energy independence, but also provides our trade partners with reliable power from a non-aggressive nation. The United States has been a net exporter of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) to South Korea, Japan, Spain, and the United Kingdom largely because of our increases in domestic gas production and export terminal capacity.
When the Biden Administration guts American energy production, we export less oil and natural gas. This forces our trading partners to rely on unfriendly nations, like Russia and Iran, for their energy and puts global stability at risk. For example, in 2009 Russia single-handedly created an energy crisis by cutting off gas flow to Ukraine following a supply contract dispute.
President Biden and Congressional Democrats are aiming to eliminate fossil fuels entirely. Without American energy on the global market, we are creating a monopoly for hostile nations and the world is at their mercy when it comes to energy.
As a member of the House Energy and Commerce and Intelligence Committees, I will continue to fight back against this disastrous agenda. We cannot stand by and let our country, as well as our allies, be taken advantage of when there is an abundance of energy resources right here at home.
