ENERGY FREEDOM ACT: Ted Cruz Introduces Bill for Energy Independence

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UPDATE 6.22.23: A group of senators led by Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) has introduced a bill to lower energy costs and spur American energy independence. Scott’s office released this statement:

Today, U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) joined eight of his Senate colleagues in introducing the Pay Less at the Pump Act. This legislation will lower energy prices for Americans by repealing the Inflation Reduction Act’s reinstatement of the $10.5 billion “Superfund Tax” on crude oil and imported petroleum products. By overturning the Democrats’ reckless tax hike on oil and petroleum products, the Pay Less at the Pump Act would bring down energy costs and fuel American energy independence.

“The best way to bring down sky-high prices at the gas pump is by unleashing American energy production—not punishing American energy producers,” said Senator Scott. “That’s why I am proud to work with my colleagues on this important legislation to help keep energy prices low for the American people.”

UPDATE 8.31.22: The policies of the Biden administration have created a double-whammy on natural gas consumers in America. First, by hamstringing American energy production, the Biden administration has driven prices higher. Second, the Biden administration’s underwriting of the European sanctions on Russia by promising them American gas supplies has brought the conflict’s inflationary pressure home to the U.S. OilPrice.com reports:

Both experts and everyday consumers remain at odds about the current state of the global natural gas market. The main point of contention is whether U.S. prices will drop significantly or rise further. With inflation hitting record highs this past year, nobody can blame consumers for being wary. Most experts agree that gas prices and demand will keep up their pace. The ongoing European energy crisis weighed into this heavily. EU countries continue to search for alternatives to Russian fuel. However, Europe’s energy problems will likely ripple into the entirety of the international energy market. In fact, it might be happening already.

LNG Crisis in Europe Spilling into the U.S.

The Nord Stream 1 pipeline running at low capacities could hit the U.S. harder than expected. With sky-high gas prices across Europe and dwindling reserves, the EU has been scouring the world for alternatives to Russian energy. Because of this, global gas competition recently experienced a sharp – and ongoing – rise.

Along with this, the winter months will prove the most strenuous on the average consumer’s wallet. After all, millions of American and European homes rely on natural gas for heat. With winter quickly approaching, the situation looks grim. While bills like the Inflation Reduction Act will likely take some of the pressure off of natural gas demand in the US, those initiatives will take time to implement and build. The real question remains; will they be ready in 3-4 months’ time?

On the positive side, Europe’s frantic search for solutions could pay off in the near future. Already, countries like Norway, the US, and the UK have stepped up to aid Germany and other central EU nations in getting alternative gas imports. However, whether or not these sources are enough to tide the EU over through winter remains up for debate.

UPDATE 7.20.22: Today Joe Biden is signaling a new commitment to fighting climate change at the expense of Americans attempting to pay for fuel to get to work, or heat their homes and water. A White House official said yesterday that Biden will “make clear tomorrow that climate change is an existential threat to our nation and to the world. And he will also make clear that since Congress is not going to act on this emergency, then he will.” The official continued to explain that Biden “ran on fighting the urgent economic and national security threat of climate change, and tomorrow’s actions will be a continuation of the decisive steps on climate that the President has taken since day one.”

Reread those words, “national security threat of climate change.” Does climate change feel like more of a threat to most Americans than the inability to pay for fuel or food? Does Biden think that starving and freezing Americans with inflation by fighting climate change is something they’ll vote for in November 2022, or 2024?

UPDATE 5.19.22: As gas prices reach record highs, it’s important to remind Americans that there are alternative courses to the anti-energy, high gasoline price path Joe Biden chose on the first day of his stay in the White House. Sen. Ted Cruz has offered a solution that would power American energy independence. Only someone seemingly against low fuel prices would ignore it.

Originally posted March 15, 2022.

Oil is the lifeblood of the Russian economy, and the country’s leaders use their power over 11 million barrels of oil production a day as both defensive shield and offensive weapon in their diplomatic and military operations. The western world has deep reserves of oil that have gone untapped thanks to the efforts of environmentalists. Now it has come to light that those environmentalists have been funded in part by Russian disinformation operations aimed at curtailing energy production in the West. Fox News reports:

For years, world leaders have accused Russia of funding environmental groups in Europe to steer nations away from energy independence and strengthen Russia’s iron grip over the continent. As nations across the globe begin shunning Russian oil in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine, U.S. leaders are also questioning how deep Russia’s ties go in the environmental community.

“The Russians actually fund some of the most rabid environmental groups in Europe because they sic them on the energy projects that aren’t Russian,” James Carafano, vice president of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital in a recent phone interview.

Back in June 2014, just months after Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine, European leaders sounded off that Russia was using disinformation operations with environmental groups to steer countries away from fracking in favor of Russian oil.

“I have met allies who can report that Russia, as part of their sophisticated information and disinformation operations, engaged actively with so-called non-governmental organisations – environmental organisations working against shale gas – to maintain European dependence on imported Russian gas,” Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the former prime minister of Denmark and then-secretary-general of NATO, said, according to the Guardian.

America has the capacity to produce all the energy required by its people, and under Donald Trump reached technical energy independence. Since Joe Biden has been in the White House, America has fallen back on its dependence on foreign energy and sends petrodollars abroad to many regimes that do not reflect American values.

Now Sen. Ted Cruz has introduced the Energy Freedom Act to restore America’s energy independence and to stop funding America’s global opponents via oil purchases. This should have been the nation’s strategy all along. FoxBusiness’s Houston Keene reports:

Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas introduced a bill to “restore American energy independence” amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine that is hitting the energy sector hard.

Cruz announced on Friday his new bill, the Energy Freedom Act, in a press release in which he blasted President Biden for having led America to lose our “status as a net petroleum exporter” with his energy sector executive orders.

“These policies have poured billions of dollars into countries such as Russia and Iran, which use those funds to attack our allies and undermine the national security of America,” Cruz said in his release.

“President Biden has imposed more restrictions on U.S. oil companies than he has on Russian oil,” the senator continued. “With Iran, he has looked the other way as the regime busted through sanctions and raised their exports to more than one million barrels per day for the first time in almost three years.”

Cruz also said he was introducing the Energy Freedom Act “to reverse Biden’s actions so we can restore American energy independence” and that the bill “won’t cost taxpayers a dime” while creating “billions in revenue in the coming years” for the U.S. “by expediting permitting, leasing, safe new pipelines, and exports, and providing much needed regulatory certainty.”

“It would create new jobs, lower energy costs, and because modern energy production in the United States is far cleaner than in any other country’s by every measure, it would help the environment,” Cruz said. “The Energy Freedom Act would put a stop to the Biden administration’s sabotage of the American energy industry, and Congress should take it up without delay.”

President Joe Biden on Saturday urged major G20 energy producing countries with spare capacity to boost production to ensure a stronger global economic recovery as part of a broad effort to pressure OPEC and its partners to increase oil supply.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci / AP Newsroom)

The Texas Republican’s bill comes as Americans across the nation are experiencing skyrocketing gas prices.

Read the entire Energy Freedom Act text here.

A version of this post was originally posted on March 7, 2022.