Energy security is national security

by Tom Cole

Since assuming office, President Joe Biden and his administration have waged a war on American energy. Not only has this assaulted American energy independence, but it has also caused fuel and utility prices to skyrocket across the country and undermines our national security. 

On day one of Joe Biden’s presidency, he killed the Keystone XL pipeline, which could supply 830,000 thousand barrels of oil per day from Canada to U.S. refineries. In addition, he also banned leasing for drilling on federal lands and waters. Today, the president is sitting on over 4,700 pending applications for permits to drill. Because of these policies, Americans are now experiencing sky-high winter energy costs and record prices at the pumps. 

Instead of unleashing North American energy production to lower prices for the American people, President Biden wrongly continues to beg dictators and foreign adversaries for oil instead of using the resources we have here in the U.S. To ease this crisis of his own making, the president has drained our Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to its lowest level since 1983. Through the Department of Energy’s public sales of the SPR, millions of barrels of this reserve have been sold to Communist China. 

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has the largest government-controlled reserve of oil in the world and selling anymore to them only emboldens a dangerous Communist regime and undermines America’s national security. Furthermore, selling our emergency reserves does not help consumers as it has only caused a minor and artificial impact on the prices of energy.

Just as Congress stopped the buying of oil from Russia, another adversary and dangerous regime, we should also not sell any of our SPR to the CCP. Last week, I was pleased to support the bipartisan Protecting America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act to ensure that does not happen. The sole purpose of the SPR is to protect our country during national emergencies, and it is time we block the selling of any amount to Communist China. I was proud this critical legislation that counters the CCP’s economic dominance passed the House. Now, the Senate must advance this bill, and the president must sign it into law and put principle above Democrats’ disastrous green energy agenda.

The Biden Administration can ease our nation’s energy crisis by unleashing American energy production instead of tapping into the SPR.

Unfortunately, instead of working on commonsense all-of-the-above energy policies, the president and Democrats ignore our energy resources that are already in the U.S. and readily available. Instead, our nation’s dangerous adversaries are benefiting at the cost of our energy independence and national security.