WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee, today issued the following statement after the Biden administration announced that it is banning the importation of Russian oil.
“This is an important step to help increase pressure on the Putin regime, but it’s not enough,” said Hoeven “We need to work with our allies to ensure Russia can’t sell its oil elsewhere, and most importantly, the Biden administration needs to take the handcuffs off our ability to produce energy here at home and unlock America’s abundant and affordable oil, gas and coal resources.”
Hoeven has been working to advance this policy change, having helped introduce legislation with Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kans.) last week to ban the United States from purchasing Russian oil and remove Russian fuels from American supply chains. The senator is also cosponsoring bipartisan legislation to prohibit the importation of Russian crude oil, petroleum, petroleum products, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal.
At the same time, Hoeven led his Senate colleagues in introducing the American Energy Independence from Russia Act, bicameral legislation that would take immediate action to increase domestic energy production to support U.S. energy independence and reduce the nation’s reliance on adversaries like Russia.
