House Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) released the following statement following President Biden’s remarks on the Ukraine-Russia crisis.
“President Biden’s energy policies are making the U.S. and Europe more dependent on Russian oil and natural gas, emboldening Putin, and inviting Russia to attack Ukraine. After becoming a net energy exporter in 2019, the first time since 1952, President Biden has slashed American energy production and made us increasingly reliant on foreign oil, including from Russia. In 2021, America imported the highest-amount of Russian oil imports in 11 years. We should not be importing energy when we can produce it here.
“I am calling on President Biden and my colleagues in Congress to immediately impose further sanctions on Putin and Russia, including on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. President Biden must also permit further oil and gas drilling on federal lands and waters and the construction of new pipelines in America. Rather than weaken our national security and dismantle our energy dominance, he should be ensuring America leads by example as the world’s number one energy producer.”
