Amidst the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, President Joe Biden recently promised to supply energy to our European allies, with the aim of reducing the region’s dependence on Russian natural gas.
I agree that American energy should fuel our nation and our allies. After all, the United States produces energy more cleanly and efficiently than any other nation on Earth.
And Pennsylvania would stand to benefit as we are home to some of the largest deposits of natural gas globally.
Unfortunately, the president’s anti-energy policies run counter to this promise. From cancelling pipelines to shutting down domestic production, this administration’s misguided energy policies have reversed America’s energy independence achieved under President Trump and strengthened Russia.
The solution is simple: If we are serious about lowering the cost of energy and diminishing Russia’s power, we must expedite approval of American energy infrastructure, including pipelines and Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) export facilities, and allow the United States to be the lowest-cost provider of clean energy at home and abroad.
But President Biden has done the opposite. Just this week, Biden declared he will once again halt all new leases for drilling and exploration on federal lands.
And last week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released an unprecedented update to its natural gas pipelines policy statement that will severely impede new and pending pipeline projects, causing energy costs across the country to remain sky-high and weakening America’s energy independence.
As the Biden administration continues its assault on American energy, it is replacing domestic supply with imports from none other than Russia. The president and other “woke” politicians may think that canceling pipelines scores them points with their liberal base, but the reality is that those same people are still consuming energy. And in the absence of access to clean, low-cost American energy, places like New England are turning to high-cost energy from Russia, where methane emissions far exceed American standards.
So where does President Biden intend to source the energy required to make good on his promise to lower American energy costs and supply Europe?
To that, the administration has thus far offered only an unsatisfactory answer–that it is working, in the words of White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki, to find “additional natural gas supplies from North Africa, the Middle East, [and] Central Asia.”
In other words, this administration intends to replace Europe’s dependence on Russian energy with a renewed dependence on energy from Saudi Arabia and China.
This so-called solution ignores the reality that American natural gas is not only abundant, but also comes with some of the lowest methane emissions and smallest carbon footprints found anywhere on our planet. During the Trump administration, the United States reduced emissions by more than the next 12 emission-reducing countries combined.
Betraying these facts, the White House’s slapdash plan would simply send more money to other hostile nations so they can continue producing energy far less cleanly than we can.
There are actionable steps the administration could take today that would help rebuild American energy independence and stabilize Europe.
Step one, as indicated above, is to fast-track the approval of new energy infrastructure–including LNG export terminals and pipelines–to ensure the United States has the operational capacity to supply American energy to our European allies as well as domestically.
Right now, dozens of projects are tied up in the regulatory process, with officials at FERC intentionally slow-rolling approvals.
We have the domestic supply of low-cost, low emissions energy. We need the infrastructure to get it to market.
The administration must also cease its stranglehold on domestic production. That means reversing course on its decision to block oil and gas drilling on federal land.
It is past time for President Biden to match his rhetoric to his actions.
U.S. producers have both the capability and the incentive to meet the moment. A policy change in this direction simply requires us to get out of our own way and allow the American energy sector to continue doing what it does best.
U.S. Rep. Fred Keller, R-Kreamer, represents Pennsylvania’s 12th district in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Author: UnknownPublication: Williamsport Sun-Gazette
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