WASHINGTON (AP) — Amid the escalating war in Ukraine, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she supports banning Russian oil imports to the U.S., a hefty nod that could strengthen President Joe Biden’s hand as global allies seek to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime.
Biden has been reluctant to curb Russian oil shipments to the U.S. or slap on energy sanctions in ways that would reduce supply as gas prices at the pump are already climbing for Americans. But Pelosi’s support gives fresh currency for an idea in Congress already backed by wide swaths of Republicans and an increasing number of Democrats. The White House has said all tools remain on the table.
“I’m all for that,” Pelosi said about ending Russian oil in the U.S. “Ban it.”
Finding common ground to counter Russian aggression toward Ukraine through energy policy would be a breakthrough for the divided Congress, which has shown remarkable resolve in unifying U.S. support for Ukrainians but has struggled over concrete steps that would help the Western-style democracy battle the Russian invasion.
A Russian oil ban could draw momentary alliance of lawmakers on the left and right — Democrats fighting climate change who want to lessen the U.S. reliance on fossil fuels; Republicans who want to boost U.S. energy production at home; and the great majority of lawmakers of both parties who want to stop Putin’s war.
Republicans have been pushing for the Russian oil ban, joined by some Democrats eager to punish Putin. “What if we crush the oil and gas sector of the Russian economy?” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. “That would be a lethal combination for the Russian economy.”
Sen. Ed Markey, a liberal Democrat from Massachusetts and a leading advocate of climate change strategies, also backs an import ban. “We cannot criticize Europe for its reliance on Russian energy as we pour dirty oil money into Russia,” he said
Still, Biden has resisted, fearing a ban could further disrupt global markets and raise already high prices at the pump. He also risks backlash from climate change activists who say U.S. officials must not use the Ukraine war to expand oil or gas drilling in the U.S., a step Republicans have been urging. Gas prices in the U.S. averaged nearly $3.73 a gallon Thursday, up almost $1 from a year ago, according to AAA motor club.
For now, the White House has said all options remain on the table. “We don’t have a strategic interest in reducing the global supply of energy,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
The remarks from the White House were widely criticized as misguided by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, at a press conference Thursday introducing a bipartisan bill to halt Russian oil imports to the U.S.
The legislation would halt Russian oil imports in the U.S. by declaring a national emergency, something Biden could also do on his own. It gained bipartisan support, including from leadership of the House Problem Solvers Caucus.
“There is a moral obligation here: I don’t want us dollars to be funding this, this carnage in Ukraine led by Putin,” Murkowski said.
Murkowski said she understood Biden won the White House in part on his promise to fight climate change, but she said after the Russian war in Ukraine, “We are in a different place.”
Russian oil and gas exports have loomed over national security policy in the U.S. and its Western allies. The energy sector is vital to the Russian economy and the industry is a political force that leaves countries reliant on Putin’s regime. Oil prices globally spiked with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, shaking markets.
The U.S. imported a small but notable amount of oil from Russia — some 7 % of all imports of crude oil and petroleum products. Some US industry groups say it’s even less. In 2021, the U.S. brought in roughly 245 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products from Russia — a one-year increase of 24%, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Pelosi said she doesn’t want to see rising gas prices at the pump for Americans, and outlined steps Congress and the administration are taking to avoid spikes.
Biden announced on Tuesday that he is releasing 30 million barrels of oil from U.S. strategic reserves, part of a global effort to ease oil supplies amid the Ukraine war, and some Democrats have been pushing a temporary holiday from the federal gas tax to ease costs to consumers.
The White House has not endorsed the gas tax holiday or ruled it out.
Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani and Matthew Daly contributed to this story.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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” Democrats fighting climate change who want to lessen the U.S. reliance on fossil fuels; ”
But if we the U.S.A. use 100 million gallons of fuel produced here in the U.S. or we buy the same amount of fuel from our enemies’, How does that have ANY different effect on anything except our wallet??
The U.S. under President Trump was energy independent.
Puppet president “Let’s Go Brandon” slows down and stops oil production here in the U.S. in order to bow down to his environmentalist masters.
So the U.S. under F… Joe Biden buys oil bought from our enemies at higher prices instead of using the same amount of fuel we the U.S. use to produce before Biden stopped our oil production.
Pelosi’s ban on Russian oil imports is just another “Never let a crisis go to waste” extension of environMETAList banning of all fossil fuels in the USA. She cares nothing about the Ukrainians or the American people whose even more inflated gas prices cripple their ability to self-govern their own lives. They think that by raising the pain of the price of domestic gas so painfully high, they will accelerate the switch to electric cars. Pure reflective Putin style leadership by social punishment of THE PEOPLE. By the way she treated the National guard troops that protected her in the Capitol, I doubt she cares that American and military foreign energy dependency may cost us American military lives, just so long as OAC and her squad votes do not jump Congressional voting ship.
SO youd keep FUNDING PUTINS INvasion, just to keep the gas price low???
” Pelosi Supports Halting Russian Oil Imports To US: ‘Ban It’”. Sure Pelosi wants to ban oil imports from Russia, because the election is coming up in November and the Democrat poll numbers have plummeted. With plummeting poll numbers, Pelosi is all of a sudden taking a hard stance on Russian oil. Hey Nancy, how do you spell “charlatan”, because that is what you are.
That’s exactly right, and there is a bipartisan committee lead by Joe Manchin who is a democrat and I don’t think with elections coming up Pelosi wants problems with this committee. The committee has proposed a bill to halt Russia oil import. I personally would be willing to pay more for gas if it means saving lives in Ukraine. We have so much of our own oil sources but it’s ridiculous to have to pay more though.
Joe “Manchin”- tried to edit but would not let me, now it let me. Lol
How much stocks in home oil has she bought? More insider trading?
I spell it “EVERY DEMOCRAT OUT there!”
But notice that the ugly old cement face hag still isn’t willing to support expanding our own energy production. Her words are like a hollow ****.
Yup. SHE just wants us to STOP BUYING russian oil/gas.. NOTHING what so ever, on INCREASING OUR own production, so our prices can come down..
If this simple minded doddering old fool (Biden) doesn’t do something to reverse this “green new deal” initiative he should be impeached as soon as the November elections are over and the congress is no longer controlled by functioning morons.
AMEN TO THAT!
LETS HOPE the GOP Grows a spine and not only IMPEACHES biden, but harris AND PELOSI!
COMMENT IMPEACH F.J.B. by the end of March 2022
Pelosi doesn’t care if Russian oil is banned and the price goes up. It won’t affect her and rising oil prices help their green agenda. The Democrats are only concerned about higher oil prices because it hurts them in the poles. Their solution isn’t to increase are own production, it’s to buy more oil from Iran.
If pelosi is for it, then I’m 1000% against it, she is a traitor and she needs to be fired and jailed as a traitor .
Note she does not advocate turning on our own energy production, only cutting our supply. Fine, we should cut off all Russian imports, but where oil is concerned, why should we buy from ANY out of country source when we have our own? Under Trump we were exporting, helping offset the imbalance of payments and bringing in dollars. Energy independence is actually a national security issue.
AND WHY was it, when we sanctioned them by cutting them off from banking, WE LEFT LOOPHOLES FOR OIL SALES???
If the ILLEGITIMATE GOVERNMENT running our Country would have shut down Putin’s exportation of oil and all other energy assets in addition to shutting down ALL access to financial institutions ON DAY ONE of Putin’s pathetic invasion of Ukraine, THE INVASION WOULD HAVE MOST LIKELY BEEN OVER!! Instead, our ILLEGITIMATE GOVERNMENT chose to impose worthless word vomit sanctions, confiscate a few oligarchs’ yachts, refuse to outright shut down Russia’s oil exports, outright shut down Russia’s access to financial institutions and refused to ramp up our Country’s domestic energy production in order truly help Ukraine AND HELP LESSEN THE HELLISH EFFECTS OF THE BIDEN INDUCED INFLATION! Just when it seems like we’ve seen the WORST of SPECIAL KOOLAIDE swilling Barely There, he decides to send his WORTHLESS AND UNQUALIFIED VP to Europe in a sick attempt to accomplish SOMETHING! All this AFTER he loose lips/sink ships phone call with China! God help us ALL!
BUT that would
A) have required someone with BALLS
B) Have required us to be PROACTIVE, something the dems have never been
and C) Someone with smarts, to have advocated for it!