WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Dave Joyce (OH-14) announced he has cosponsored legislation to strengthen America’s energy independence and weaken one of Vladimir Putin’s most significant streams of income. Titled the American Energy Independence from Russia Act, this bill would require the Biden Administration to create an energy security plan within 30 days and take action to unleash America’s oil and natural gas production to offset Russian energy imports.

“Securing America’s energy independence is both an economic and national security imperative,” said Joyce, a member of the Ukraine Caucus and the Conservative Climate Caucus. “By unleashing our domestic oil and gas production we can weaken Putin’s position of power, provide Americans with affordable energy, and reduce global CO2 emissions.”

In 2019, the U.S. became a net total energy exporter for the first time since 1952. However, that was quickly reversed under the Biden Administration. According to the Energy Information Administration, the United States imported an average of 20.4 million barrels of crude and refined products a month from Russia in 2021, increasing our reliance on Russian crude oil and petroleum products by about 24%. Using today’s crude oil pricing and assuming the U.S. is importing as much as 2021, this is the equivalent of sending Putin a check of at least $22 million more per day than under President Trump.

“In his State of the Union address, President Biden said ‘instead of relying on foreign supply chains, let’s make it in America.’ I’d like to know why the President doesn’t believe that should extend American oil and gas,” said Joyce. “With every barrel of oil the U.S. buys from Russia, we help finance Putin’s war against Ukraine. We need American energy independence now, and the Ukrainian people needed it yesterday.”

Specifically, the American Energy Independence from Russia Act would:

• Increase U.S. LNG exports to boost natural gas production
• Prohibit freezes of new energy leases, permits, approvals or authorizations for oil and gas, coal, hard rock, and critical minerals
• Immediately authorize the Keystone XL pipeline under the Presidential Permit of March 29, 2019
• Resume oil and gas leasing on federal lands and water
  • Direct the Department of Interior to conduct a minimum of 4 oil and gas lease sales annually in Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Nevada, and any other state where land is available for oil and gas leasing under the Mineral Leasing Act.
• Require the Secretary of Energy to develop a plan to increase oil and gas production/leasing on federal lands in conjunction with a drawdown of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

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