First appeared on FOX: A bipartisan group of more than 50 House members is calling on the Biden administration to follow a recent federal court order and lift a moratorium on new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export licenses, arguing the progressive policy is strangling U.S. energy at home and abroad.
“Since day one, President Biden has launched an administration-wide attack on America’s oil and gas industry,” House Budget Committee Chair Jody Arrington (R-Texas) told Fox News Digital. “Like most of President Biden’s executive orders, the ban on U.S. LNG export permits was blocked by the courts, but the Biden administration’s response has been to ignore the judge’s decision and not approve those permits.”
Arrington led a group of four Democrats and 46 Republicans in calling on the Department of Energy (DOE) to reverse the LNG moratorium that began in January of this year.
Other House Democrats joining the condemnation were Rep. Lou Collier (D-Calif.), Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) and Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine).
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Reps. Jody Arrington (left) and Lou Correa (right) led the letter condemning President Biden’s suspension of LNG export permits. (Getty Images)
President Correa called LNG “clean and reliable” and said it would power “millions of good-paying American jobs.”
“The Administration’s initial suspension has had substantial negative economic, national security and environmental impacts. We must expeditiously begin reviewing existing LNG export license applications so we can create American jobs, support our allies and reduce our carbon footprint,” Correa told Fox News Digital.
They sent the letter, which is also supported by groups including the American Petroleum Institute, the Energy Workforce and Skills Council and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Global Energy Institute, just weeks after a federal judge ordered Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to lift a moratorium on new LNG export permits.
Judge James Cain, a Trump administration appointee, granted an emergency stay requested by 16 states, who argued that the policy was having a negative impact on the economy, dealing a major blow to Biden’s climate change policies.
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The Everett LNG marine terminal is pictured on Oct. 31, 2022 in Everett, Massachusetts. (Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
The 51 lawmakers who sent the letter to Granholm on Monday said Biden’s policies “have made U.S. energy exporters less competitive, restricted critical energy supplies to a key U.S. ally, and politicized the LNG export approval process that should be based solely on business considerations and market demand.”
The letter cites a 2017 study that projects LNG production could create between 220,000 and 453,000 new jobs in the U.S. by 2040 and add $73 billion to the U.S. economy.
“LNG has a significantly lower carbon footprint than other types of energy sources, making the expansion of this fuel essential as consumers around the world seek to reduce their carbon footprint,” they said. “Furthermore, exports of this fuel have been and will continue to be essential to our European allies overcoming the severe energy shortages that have arisen following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
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The House of Representatives voted mostly along party lines in February to overturn President Biden’s moratorium on LNG permits. The White House opposed the bill but stopped short of threatening a veto.
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The White House also rejected a proposal made by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) in April to tie the Ukraine aid to President Biden’s shift in LNG policy.
But Biden’s suspension received significant support from Democrats. In May, more than 70 Democrats in the House and Senate issued a letter praising the administration’s decision to suspend the LNG permit approval process.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the DOE for comment.
