The Biden administration has taken bold climate action to pause LNG exports unless and until the Department of Energy updates their public interest determination process. The pause on approvals of new LNG export facilities will allow the federal government to update its outdated and deficient approach and incorporate critical new data and analysis, which has not been done since Trump left office.
But the Republican party is threatened by President Biden's climate leadership and beholden to their fossil fuel donors. The GOP is pushing a series of misguided and dangerous bills and amendments this week to ry and block Biden climate progress, and we need every Democrat and climate hawk on deck to fight back.
This week, the House could vote on H.R. 7176 – the misleadingly named “Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act.” This bill would be a massive giveaway to Big Oil and Gas CEOs by opening the floodgates for gas exports that raise our energy costs, accelerate the climate crisis, and make our families sick by stripping away the federal government’s responsibility to examine the full impacts of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on the economy, consumer energy costs, the climate, and local communities.
In addition, Senator Barasso is reportedly looking to add an amendment to overturn President Biden's LNG pause to a must pass military spending bill for our allies in Ukraine. As the Department of Energy, EU allies, and others have reported, President Biden's Pause on new LNG export licenses will not impact supplies of LNG to our European allies - where demand for gas is already declining due to our shared climate and security goals of moving away from fossil fuels.
On behalf of climate hawks and constituents, I ask you to stand firm in the face of Republican tantrums and lies, and support President Biden's climate leadership.
