WASHINGTON—United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, joined Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), along with 15 other Senate Republican colleagues, in introducing the Unlocking Domestic LNG Potential Act, legislation to depoliticize the export of American liquefied natural gas (LNG) by eliminating the requirement for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to authorize its export and instead giving the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) sole authority over the approval process.
The legislation comes just days after President Biden handed a major victory to both Vladimir Putin and far-left climate activists by pausing approvals of pending applications for LNG exports. The president’s anti-energy decision is a major blow to American energy independence and will only increase global reliance on Russia and other bad actors around the world.
“Since the day he took office, President Biden has done everything he can to surrender our nation’s energy independence,” said Senator Hagerty. “This is not only an economic issue, but a national security issue that determines whether we rely on energy produced by international killers or American drillers, and whether our adversaries are enriched by Biden policies that increase their market share and income to fuel their wars, terror and aggression. I’m pleased to join this legislation that will prevent President Biden from blocking exports and allow America to supply our allies with clean LNG while defunding our adversaries in the process.”
“President Biden’s move to halt American energy exports is pure politics,” said Senator Scott. “In fact, exporting U.S. natural gas would actually lower global emissions. President Biden is dead set on bowing to the far-left and making the U.S. and our allies more reliant on foreign adversaries like Russia. Instead, I’m fighting to unleash America’s abundant natural resources, bolster our energy independence and safeguard our national security.”
Background:
- Last week, the Biden Administration paused approvals of pending applications for LNG exports.
- On the same day, Hagerty joined Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and 24 other Republican colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden and Secretary Granholm of the DOE condemning the so-called “LNG plan.”
- U.S. gas exports have more than quadrupled in the past decade, making America the largest natural gas exporter in the world.
- As tensions rise around the world, there is a growing demand for American energy from our international partners in Europe, the Indo-Pacific and elsewhere.
- Our European allies, for example, have become increasingly reliant on the U.S. for LNG in light of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
- This LNG plan places the Biden Administration in the position of choosing between strengthening U.S. national security by helping our partners and allies or caving to progressive activists.
Full text of the Unlocking Domestic LNG Potential Act can be found here.
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