WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) 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. The bill is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN). Companion legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representative Ronny Jackson (R-TX-13).
“Pushing unsustainable energy policies here at home has led us to become dependent on energy abroad, and our country is paying the price for the administration’s decisions,” said Senator Tuberville. “The United States is an energy rich nation, but we need to have smart policies in place to harness that energy and regain energy independence.”
“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 Senator Hawley. “To stand up to aggressors like Vladimir Putin, we can and we must work to power our nation and the world.“
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.
Shortly after coming into office, President Biden cancelled 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.
Text for the American Energy Independence Act of 2022 can be found here.
Background
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.
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, and HELP Committees.
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