By Brandon Moseley
Congressman Barry Moore (R-AL02) has been highly critical of President Joseph R. Biden (D) and his handling of America’s energy policy.
Moore said that “Americans are paying 61% more nationally for a gallon of gas.”
“Americans are starting to feel the pain of Biden's anti-energy policies in their wallet,” Moore said. “Last week President Biden announced that the Department of Energy would release 50 million barrels of oil held in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). This move was another failed attempt to salvage this crisis.”
Moore is blaming Biden for much of this mess.
“Instead of making it easier for American companies to increase domestic oil and gas production and hire more U.S. workers, Biden has begged OPEC and Russia to increase global output to ease rising prices,” said Moore. “President Biden and House Democrats are now pushing a "Heat Your Home" tax just in time for the winter.”
In addition, Moore said it appears Biden is attempting to shut down Enbridge Energy's Line 5 pipeline in Michigan. The line is currently being examined for possible leaks after concerns were raised amid a fight over the pipeline between Enbridge, the Canadian government, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and tribal nations.
“Why does Biden hate American energy so much?” Moore said.
Congressman Gary Palmer (R-AL06) had similar sentiments about the Biden Administration's proposed plan to shut down the Enbridge Energy pipeline.
“Heat prices are rising as winter intensifies, President Biden has already begged Russia and OPEC to increase their energy output, and yet he's considering shutting down another energy resource reserve right here in America,” Palmer said. “This is terrible policy and will exacerbate current difficulties for many.”
Enbridge Energy’s Line 5 is a 68-year old oil pipeline that brings 23 million gallons of oil and liquified natural gas from Canada to the Midwest. Whitmer (D) is demanding that the pipeline be closed permanently because it goes through a four-mile stretch of the Straits of Mackinac, which connects Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. Whitmer has ordered Enbridge Energy to shut down the pipeline citing the potential for environmental damage. They have to this point refused the Governor’s order, which is now in federal court, According to Enbridge, that portion of the pipeline has never leaked and is in good condition. In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) issued a permit allowing the pipeline to cross the international border. Whitmer wants Biden to reverse that policy.
Democrats argue that decreasing America’s dependence on fossil fuels is essential to lowering the nation’s carbon emissions and that the global economic recovery post-COVID-19 pandemic would have been an inflationary event no matter who was President. They claim that global supply chain issues have had a greater effect than Biden’s policies on the price of gas.
Barry Moore is in his first term representing Alabama’s Second Congressional District. He is running for re-election in 2022.
(Original reporting by the Institute for Energy Research contributed to this report.)
