Jackson Purchase News

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered remarks today on the Senate floor concerning energy and national security.

“Last week, a U.S. company announced it had reached an agreement to begin exporting American liquefied natural gas to Ukraine for the first time,” McConnell stated. “That’s good news – for our friends on the front lines of Russian aggression, for allies across eastern Europe, and for the workers and producers behind some of America’s most affordable and reliable energy.”

McConnell emphasized that exporting American energy is beneficial both domestically and internationally. “Exporting American abundance is a win-win proposition. And it’s one that our closest trading partners in Europe have increasingly recognized as an opportunity to offset their reliance on Russian gas.”

However, McConnell criticized the Biden Administration's approach to energy policy. “The Biden Administration is still chronically confused about the role that affordable and abundant American energy can play as a geopolitical tool, a source of American leadership, and an engine of our economy,” he said.

He pointed out what he perceives as contradictions in President Biden's policies. “In a joint pledge issued two years ago, President Biden committed to help reduce Europe’s reliance on Russian energy and increase global energy security. Then, a few lines later, he reiterated his commitment to the unenforceable virtue signals of the Paris climate deal.”

McConnell argued that these policies are inconsistent with supporting allies against Russian aggression. “Remember, the President who continues to insist he’s serious about helping America’s closest allies resist the predations of Putin’s Russia is the same President who made stunting American energy development a Day One priority,” he remarked.

He also highlighted specific decisions by the administration that he believes undermine U.S. energy potential. “This is the same President who earlier this year issued a de facto ban on new permitting for LNG export infrastructure that will make it harder for American producers to respond to demand for reliable alternatives to Russian or Iranian energy,” McConnell noted.

Discussing recent developments in European energy markets, McConnell mentioned Germany's shift from Russian gas to American gas being hindered by administrative decisions. “One German state-owned energy provider was in the process of switching from buying Russian gas to buying American gas instead. But that plan was stifled by the Administration’s decision to appease its activist base instead of reinforcing America’s allies.”

McConnell concluded by stressing missed opportunities due to current policies: “In the face of a dangerous world, the Administration’s obsession with performative climate policy is taking meaningful levers of American power simply off the table.”

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