News release:
BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer, R-ND, member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, joined Larry Kudlow on Fox Business to discuss President Joe Biden’s recent calls for a windfall tax on energy companies. He also discussed a strategy to increase energy production if Republicans win a Senate majority in the upcoming midterm election.
On the Biden Administration’s Destructive and Dumb Energy Policies:
“[Joe Biden] drives down production, driving up the price [of energy]. He then complains that companies are making too much profit and not spending them on reinvestment—which he won’t allow them to do. [Now] he’s going to punish them with a windfall tax, which only adds to the price one more time. I don’t think very many people are fooled by it, Larry. It was an obvious, pathetic, [and] desperate attempt to change the narrative going into the election. But I just don’t think people are buying it.”
“Even if you don’t understand energy, if you just understand supply-side economics a little bit, you’d understand that discouraging supply and increasing demand is going to bring up prices. If you discourage further production, companies will have less to do with their money. They can’t reinvest it.”
“The energy sector needs long-term promises. These are big capital investments that need long-term returns. The attitude that comes from this Administration isn’t going to go away just because Republicans take control. Now there may be a transactional Joe Biden somewhere in there, but we haven’t seen him for the last couple of years.”
On A Republican Senate Majority:
“Remember, the one thing the Senate has is the power to obstruct. We have the power to say no to a lot of things [like] the confirmation of nominees including the judiciary as well as the executive branch. If [Republicans] take the Senate, I think we have to be prepared 100% to say no to everybody Joe Biden sends our way until we get some concessions with regard to energy production in the United States. At the end of the day, he’ll look heroic for letting us do it.”
“The numbers do matter. I know this, whether [it’s] Dr. Oz replacing [Senator] Pat Toomey or Herschel Walker replacing a Democrat, there’s a good crop of new candidates. If we get to 52 or 53 [Republicans], we’re going to have a really strong freshman class [who] will be helpful to the rest of us that want to play hardball. Because in a divided government this is when transactions can take place, but you have to have some leverage. We have to use our leverage even if it’s just in the legislative branch.”
