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Biden energy policy enriched Russia, emboldened Putin, enabled invasion of Ukraine, critics claim
[JustTheNews] The Biden administration's energy policy — from canceling the Keystone XL Pipeline to acquiescing to Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline and canceling federal oil and gas leases — has helped enrich and embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin, facilitating his invasion of Ukraine, critics argue. When President Joe Biden first took office, he revoked permission for construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, banned new leases for oil and gas production on federal land, and planned on restricting methane waste emissions from natural gas drilling on public lands. While the U.S. pipeline construction has stopped, a Louisiana federal judge's ruling has delayed the Biden administration's plan to restrict natural gas drilling. Largely as a result of such sharp restrictions on U.S. energy production, gas prices at the pump have jumped by $1 a gallon from a year ago, and oil prices have skyrocketed to $90 a barrel — the highest levels since the Obama administration. Last year, Biden also lifted bipartisan congressional sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which was to deliver Russian natural gas to Germany. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Biden announced that he would reinstitute the sanctions, an announcement that came a day after Germany halted certification of the pipeline. The only option for Biden to "affect Russian behavior — is to kick them out of the international banking system, and he wouldn't do it," former Deputy National Security Advisor KT McFarland told Fox News on Thursday at CPAC. "Why? Because the Germans and the French and the Italians — nobody wants to go along with it. Why? Because they all rely on Russian energy, Russian oil and natural gas." New Jersey Democrats Sen. Bob Menendez and Rep. Bill Pascrell also recommended removing Russian banks from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) payment system. Posted by: Skidmark 2022-02-28 |
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