Congresswoman Tenney’s Statement on Passage of Legislation to Ban Imports of Oil and Gas from Russia

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-22), member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today released the following statement in response to the passage of H.R. 6968, the Suspending Energy Imports from Russia Act, which will ban imports of oil and gas from Russia. Tenney voted for this legislation.

“Vladimir Putin has waged an unprovoked war against a sovereign nation. This senseless and unjustified violence has put the lives of millions and the security of Europe in grave danger. More than two million Ukrainians have fled their country, and unfathomable damage has been inflicted on the Ukrainian homeland. We must continue to take meaningful diplomatic and economic actions to stop Putin in his tracks. Banning Russian oil and gas imports will hit him where it hurts most. Without this measure, the United States could have continued to help fund Putin’s war machine by purchasing nearly $22 million a day in Russian oil.

“I have been calling for a ban on Russian oil and gas imports for several days now. While I am glad to finally see it come to fruition, I am disappointed that a far more comprehensive and bipartisan bill that was originally negotiated in Congress was thrown out by Democrats in favor of the bill passed tonight. The bipartisan version was much stronger: it would have made it more difficult for President Biden to waive the prohibition on oil and gas imports, ended normal trade relations for Russia and Belarus, and provided a path for President Biden to institute higher tariffs on Russian and Belarusian goods. These provisions were unfortunately – and inexplicably – stripped by Democratic leaders from the bill we considered tonight.

“With the passage of this bill tonight, ending Russian oil and gas imports cannot be the last step. President Biden must take immediate action to increase domestic energy production to create strong domestic jobs and protect Americans from further pain at the pump. He must also fully re-open federal lands to responsible and regulated oil and gas exploration and restart construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. America is ready to return to energy independence.”

Tenney supports robust legislative efforts in Congress to restore American energy independence and unleash domestic production, including in the resource-rich Southern Tier of New York State. She is a cosponsor of the Keystone XL Pipeline Construction and Jobs Preservation Act to restart construction of the pipeline. She is also a cosponsor of the American Energy Independence From Russia Act to require the Biden Administration to submit an energy security plan evaluating energy imports posing a security risk, restart construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, and unleash U.S. liquified natural gas (LNG) exports to boost natural gas production.

Recently, Tenney joined a group of her colleagues in a letter to President Biden demanding he commit to rebuilding U.S. energy independence in his State of the Union address. Tenney also was a cosponsor of the Prohibition on Imports of Russian Oil Act to ban Russian petroleum imports to the United States.

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