WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)
joined Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and Tommy Tuberville
(R-Ala.) to introduce the
American
Energy Independence Act of 2022, which reverses President Biden’s shutdown of the American energy
sector and returns American energy to full production.
“Energy costs were already skyrocketing
due to President Biden’s disastrous policies that have made us more reliant on
energy from places like Russia. Putin’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine will make
matters worse for energy costs at home. Now more than ever, we need to reclaim
our energy independence so Iowa families don’t continue paying the price for
this administration’s failures. That’s why I’m proud to support the American Energy Independence Act, which
will take critical steps to lower gas prices and unleash energy production
right here in the United States,” Grassley
said.
“To be strong and free as a nation, we
must be energy independent. My bill will reverse Joe Biden’s disastrous energy
surrender that has allowed Russian energy dominance and instead open up
American production full-throttle,” said
Hawley. “To stand up to aggressors like Vladimir Putin, we can and we must
work to power our nation and the world.”
“The Biden administration’s war on
American energy has placed severe burdens on the shoulders of American citizens
and led to disastrous national security ramifications across the globe. For the
sake of our national and economic security, we must immediately reverse course
and re-establish the energy independence created by the previous
administration’s policies, which is exactly what this legislation would do,” Hagerty said.
Shortly after taking office, Biden
canceled the Keystone XL Pipeline, blocked new oil and gas leases, issued
regulations designed to stymie domestic energy investment and advocated for
measures that focus more on Green New Deal priorities than on American
security. As energy prices soared at home, Biden turned to Russia and the
global oil cartel OPEC for help driving down energy costs.
Now, immediately following Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine, the price of oil
rose to over $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014. Gas and energy
prices for working Americans are quickly rising to new highs. The Biden
administration has been reluctant to sanction the Russian energy sector, due no
doubt to the United States’ dangerous dependence on foreign energy. At the same
time, European countries, particularly Germany, are heavily dependent on
Russian natural gas.
Specifically, the American Energy Independence Act of 2022 will:
- Assert
that it is the official policy of the United States to achieve full energy
independence and low energy costs for its citizens in light of Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine.
- Instruct
federal agencies to identify and rescind existing regulations that have the
effect of reducing American energy independence, bar new climate rules that
reduce energy security or raise energy prices and direct agencies to work to
achieve energy independence by 2024.
- Ease
the regulatory burden on energy companies engaged in fracking.
- Restore
the permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline after its cancellation by the Biden
administration and ease the process for constructing new pipelines.
- Defund
the United States’ contributions to any provisions of the Paris Climate
Agreement.
- Promote
oil and natural gas leases on federal land following the Biden administration’s
moratorium.
- Terminate
the Biden administration’s new “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) regulation
and preserve the Trump administration’s standards.
- Lower
the “social cost of carbon” to $0 per ton to focus government standards on
boosting domestic energy production, rather than climate change.
Text for the
American Energy Independence Act of 2022 can be found by clicking
HERE.
-30-