Biden's Assault on American Energy

Floor Speech

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Mr. WALBERG. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

Madam Speaker, last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that Russia is now the number two oil importer to the U.S.-- let that sink in--behind only Canada. Russian oil imports increased by 23 percent in May to nearly 850,000 barrels a day from the previous month.

Up until the Biden administration took over, we were energy secure and no longer dependent upon Middle East oil. Now President Biden is asking OPEC to pump more oil while he shuts down domestic production, putting America last.

The message is clear, President Biden is pro-Russia and OPEC energy, but anti-American energy. He is pro-Russian pipelines, but anti- American pipelines.

In January, President Biden canceled the Keystone XL pipeline. He then withdrew sanctions the Trump administration put in place, enabling Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline to transfer natural gas to Germany without navigating its way through Ukraine.

We know pipelines are the safest and most efficient way to transport energy products. Even Energy Secretary Granholm admitted this in the wake of the Colonial cyberattack. And yet, we are witnessing attacks from the left on energy infrastructure in every corner of the Nation.

In Michigan, Governor Whitmer has ordered the shutdown of Line 5, despite it earning all of the necessary permits and environmental reviews at both the State and the Federal level.

Line 5 carries 540,000 barrels a day of crude oil and natural gas and serves more than 50 percent of Michigan's propane needs. Shutting it down would threaten thousands of jobs, billions in economic output, and the safe supply of resources necessary to meet Michigan families' most basic needs.

Make no mistake: there are consequences to these actions. We saw what happened earlier this year when just one pipeline shut down. What will happen when Democrats shut down all of the pipelines, ban oil and natural gas, and make us 100 percent dependent on renewables sourced from China? This is a stark vision for our future, and even more so for our grandchildren's future.

So I would ask my Democratic colleagues to stop placating the radical green lobby, and instead, work with us in a bipartisan manner to develop real, long-term solutions that deploy more clean energy and reduce emissions through innovation and technology. This all makes sense, and it is American.

American ingenuity during the shale revolution enabled us to become the world's energy leader. We must not surrender this role to adversaries by hamstringing ourselves with Green New Deal mandates that make no sense, will not work, and that will devastate our great Nation while doing nothing, nothing to improve our global air quality.

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