Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As President Biden visits Texas following his announcement that the U.S. will ban Russian imports of oil – amidst rising gas prices, an international energy crisis, and the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston – Chairman Dan Newhouse (WA-04) and Congressional Western Caucus Members from Texas are calling on him to unleash American energy potential and meet with energy producers in the state.
 
“The Biden Administration would prefer to sit down with authoritarian regimes in Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, and Iran – propping up their economies and lending credibility to their reign – rather than sit down with domestic energy producers in Texas who are helping lead the charge toward a secure energy future for our nation,” said Chairman Newhouse. “President Biden must unleash the full extent of American energy exceptionalism, and what better place to start than the Lone Star State?”  
 
“We should not be responding to shocks in the global energy market by becoming more reliant on Saudi Arabia and Venezuela – we should be championing production at home,” said Rep. August Pfluger (TX-11). “We should be putting the Permian Basin to work and unleashing our domestic oil supply to regain our energy dominance. The President is traveling to Texas today – I invite him to visit my district and see firsthand the essential oil production that happens every day in America.”
 
Rep. Pfluger introduced the Midland Over Moscow Act to strengthen U.S. energy independence and make American allies less dependent on Russian oil and gas. Click here to learn more.
 
“The irony of Biden’s visit to Texas today is not lost on the citizens of the Lone Star State. While Biden announces his embargo on Russian energy imports, he continues his unilateral assault on US oil and gas and American energy independence,” said Rep. Jodey Arrington (TX-19). “Banning foreign fossil fuel imports without reversing his policies hostile to domestic producers is an empty and expensive political gesture. Last night, I introduced the FREEDOM Act to impose a Russian import ban while simultaneously bolstering US production by reauthorizing the Keystone pipeline and nullifying Biden’s punitive climate Executive Orders. Blocking oil from nefarious nations while increasing domestic production is the only solution for American energy independence, and Biden should look no further than Texas energy to accomplish that goal.”
 
Rep. Arrington introduced the Freedom from Russian Energy Enterprise and Domestic Oil Maximization Act (FREEDOM Act) to block Russian energy imports and unleash domestic oil and gas production. Click here to learn more.

“America is experiencing historically high gas prices,” said Rep. Michael Burgess (TX-26). “President Biden and his Administration are placing the blame solely on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine instead of the policies that have put us in this energy crisis. On his first day in office, President Biden stopped the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline and placed an unlawful moratorium on new oil and gas drilling permits on federal lands. Limiting the ability to use our own resources only makes us more reliant on other countries for our energy production.”
 
“Biden’s war on American energy is obstructing Texas from supplying the nation, and our allies, with clean and cost-effective oil,” said Rep. Brian Babin (TX-36). “Instead, this president has left the world dependent on war criminals and hostile nations for their most basic needs. I proudly represent more petrochemical plants and oil refineries than any other member in Congress, and I urge Biden to support these hard-working Americans rather than foreign dictators who hate America and what we stand for.”