[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 55 (Tuesday, March 29, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1819-S1821]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                 Energy

  Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I come to the floor today to speak 
about unleashing American energy. Earlier this month, we saw the 
highest price ever for a gallon of gasoline in the United States. 
Inflation is over a high of 40 years. Energy costs are driving the cost 
of everything else, and there appears to be no end in sight. Joe Biden 
cannot hide from the fact that he is the President of high prices.
  Meanwhile, in Europe, Vladimir Putin continues his onslaught. The 
Russian killing machine continues its assault on innocent people. 
Thousands of civilians have been killed. This includes hundreds of 
children.
  Vladimir Putin's war crimes are all paid for with Russian energy. 
Energy accounts for nearly half of Putin's budget. Energy is the only 
successful industry in the Russian economy. If you want to defund 
Vladimir Putin, you have to drain his tank. You have to defund him on 
energy.
  So what have we seen from the President of the United States? Well, 
Joe Biden spent all last year acting like Vladimir Putin was his 
``Secretary of Energy.'' Joe Biden played right along. Putin wanted it; 
Biden did it, followed the ``Secretary of Energy.''
  Biden decided against sanctions on Putin's Nord Stream 2 Pipeline. 
People in this body, on both sides of the aisle, said: Mr. President, 
sanction the pipeline; don't allow it.
  Putin said: I want it.
  Biden gave it.

[[Page S1820]]

  Actually, Joe Biden actually lobbied this body, the U.S. Senate, to 
not do what we knew was the right thing to do in terms of sanctioning 
Vladimir Putin and the pipeline. Biden caved to Putin.
  Biden also caved to Putin by extending our nuclear arms reduction 
treaty without any conditions. He essentially gave Vladimir Putin 
exactly what he wanted: a permission slip to build up the military. 
Even after the invasion, 2 weeks in, Joe Biden was still fine with 
buying Russian oil. It took bipartisan Members of the House and the 
Senate to stop it.
  He didn't ban Russian oil because of the war; it was because of this 
bipartisan effort in Congress. We finally forced his hand. Democrats in 
Congress were willing to stand up to the President of the United States 
and say they were willing to join the Republicans in overriding the 
President on this very matter. Joe Biden dragged his feet, so a 
bipartisan group in Congress had to drag Joe Biden.
  Every Member of this body should remember what President Zelenskyy 
had to say to us. He said: If there had been sanctions, meaning in 
January, there would not have been a war. In January, I came to this 
floor, and I said history would not be kind to those who ran 
interference for Vladimir Putin. It is even more true today. History 
will not be kind to those who stood by as Vladimir Putin planned, 
prepared, and paid for the invasion.
  At every step in this crisis, Congress has had to take the lead, and 
the President had to be pulled along. Congress had to drag Joe Biden 
into banning seven Russian banks from the SWIFT payment system. 
Congress had to drag Joe Biden into revoking Russia's trade status.
  Congress had to drag Joe Biden into sending lethal aid to Ukraine. 
Two-thirds of this aid still hasn't been delivered. Congress signed a 
check for $3 billion in weapons. So far, it looks like Joe Biden has 
provided to Ukraine about $800 million.
  So where are the weapons? Where are the weapons right now? There is 
no time to waste. Innocent people are being murdered. In so much of 
this, Joe Biden has been not just a day late but billions of dollars 
short, and he is leading from far, far behind.
  But Joe Biden seems to be proud of himself. He went to Europe last 
week, bragged about the sanctions on Russia. Well, there is still a lot 
of work to do.

  I am here on the Senate floor to tell you that we have more work to 
do in terms of dragging Joe Biden along. On Friday, Joe Biden announced 
an energy agreement with the European Union. The White House listed 14 
things that they would do. Well, what was missing from that list? Well, 
I will tell you: the one thing that would actually work.
  Missing from the list of 14 was the thing that would actually work, 
which is increasing the production of American oil and gas. Under the 
agreement, Europe will buy an additional 15 billion cubic meters of 
natural gas each year. Now, that is about 10 percent of what they 
currently buy from Russia. So where is it going to come from? It is a 
legitimate question. They don't know. On Friday, a Biden official said 
this. He said: We can't speak to exactly where the natural gas is 
coming from.
  The White House also said that the United States will ``maintain its 
regulatory environment.'' In other words, no change to current policy. 
The war on American energy will continue.
  And if you took a look at the budget that came out yesterday, there 
are 36 new taxes proposed, 11 of which are going to drive up the cost 
of American energy. At a time of the highest gas prices ever, 40 
percent inflation, the Biden budget says we need to put more tax on the 
production of energy in this country.
  We need to produce more energy. We need it. We will use it. Europe 
needs it. We have promised it to them. Joe Biden's regulators want to 
keep it in the ground.
  Now, Secretary Granholm waited until last week to approve two pending 
applications for liquefied natural gas exports. She could have approved 
them last year; didn't. Waited until 2 weeks after Russia invaded 
Ukraine to finally approve two of six permits. It took weeks of 
bloodshed. There are still four more applications waiting on her desk. 
Oh, they have been sitting there for well over a year.
  Time to wake up and approve the applications. Europe has woken up. 
They are wide awake from their addiction and reliance on their enemies 
for their energy. Joe Biden is still sleepwalking.
  Now, Russia is still exporting energy all around the world. We put 
sanctions in place, but this is what the Washington Post had to say. 
They called the energy exports continuing today from Russia ``the 
loophole that's keeping Russia's economy alive.''
  China is stocking up on Russian oil at a discount. None of Joe 
Biden's sanctions do a thing to stop China--not a one. China can 
continue to prop up the Russian war machine.
  As Senator Toomey has said, we need secondary sanctions to stop the 
flow of cash to the Kremlin. Joe Biden's banking sanctions explicitly 
avoid hitting Russian energy. It is the key to this funding: $5 to $7 
billion a week to the killing machine from exporting Russian energy.
  The banking sanctions don't even go into effect until June 24. It is 
still March. April, May--June 24. The war may be over by then, but in 
the meantime, thousands of people could die.
  Oh, and the President's sanctions do not include Russian uranium. 
They should, but they don't. As a result, our Nation, America, remains 
dependent on Vladimir Putin for one of the most important elements on 
Earth. You want to defund Putin's invasion, it is time to finish the 
job with banning of imports from Russia to the United States, and we 
must ban uranium. We need to do it now.
  Now, earlier this month, I have introduced legislation to do just 
that. Now, I am grateful that Senator Lummis and Senator Marshall and 
Senator Cramer have added their strong support. Here in America, we 
have vast uranium supplies, and it is especially true in my home State 
of Wyoming. There is no reason at all that America should be buying 
uranium from Vladimir Putin and Russia.
  Now, Joe Biden is also helping sell Russian uranium in other 
countries because, right now, Joe Biden is pushing our Nation into a 
deal with Iran that was negotiated by Russia. Yes, you heard me right: 
negotiated by Russia--not negotiated by the Americans, not negotiated 
by--no. We let Vladimir Putin negotiate with Iran on a nuclear deal.
  A deal with Iran would mean billions of dollars for Russia. You don't 
believe it? It is true. A Russia state-controlled nuclear energy 
company would get about $10 billion out of the deal. More bullets, more 
bombs, more bloodshed paid for by Joe Biden's uranium deal.

  When it comes to Iran and Russia, no deal is a good deal. Whether it 
is uranium, whether it is natural gas, the solution for Russian energy 
is American energy. We have it. We have it in abundance. This 
administration will not let us get it out of the ground.
  Today, we are still producing 1.3 million fewer barrels of oil than 
we were prior to the pandemic. The administration is still sitting on 
4,600 drilling permits. Joe Biden still hasn't had a single lease sale 
on Federal lands for oil and gas.
  Just yesterday, Joe Biden proposed a $43 billion tax increase on 
American energy. Who pays these taxes? Clearly, the hard-working 
families of this country in the form of higher prices. This is the last 
thing the country needs now at a time of 40-year high inflation and the 
highest gas prices ever.
  Energy security is worth a lot more than climate zealotry. Our 
friends in Europe who are held hostage by Vladimir Putin will tell you 
that today. We are much better off as a nation selling energy to our 
friends than being forced to buy it from our enemies.
  What President Biden and the Democrats don't seem to understand is 
this: Energy security is national security. For ourselves, for our 
allies, we need more American energy, and we need it now.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Murphy). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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  The Senator from Iowa.