President Joe Biden’s clampdown on liquified natural gas exports was seen as a swipe at Texas for its alleged defiance of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that claimed Biden could remove the razor wire the Lone Star State installed to slow the rush of illegal immigrants.
But Biden’s pause also had an adverse effect on the state of Florida, and lawmakers let Biden know about it.
Florida Republican Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio, joined by 13 House GOP lawmakers, sent Biden a letter last week expressing their discontent with Biden’s meddling in the natural gas market.
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“The White House’s newly announced ‘Green New Deal’ appeasement policy of pausing pending LNG export projects puts our entire nation’s energy supply and security in jeopardy,” the lawmakers argued, adding that the decision is “of significant importance for Florida and could have wide-ranging economic, environmental, and national security consequences both at home and abroad.”
“Florida plays a pivotal role in the broader landscape of U.S. LNG exports, and any decisions made in this regard will have a direct impact on our state’s economy and security,” the letter stated.
“A proper understanding and consideration of U.S. LNG exports on global energy markets and U.S. and allied interests is required before instituting such a shamefully transparent giveaway to radical climate activists.”
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The GOP lawmakers noted that American LNG exports have been a “lifeline” for countries around the world, but especially in Europe, which received almost half of our LNG exports.
“This underscores Florida’s vital role in contributing to global energy security,” the letter continued. “In the absence of U.S. LNG exports, European nations would face the difficult choice of either depriving their citizens of energy or supporting Russia through energy dependence.”
With Russia’s boost of LNG exports and terrorists threatening shipping lanes in the Middle East, the Republicans argued, “maintaining a stable and secure supply of U.S. LNG is crucial for safeguarding the nation’s energy security, providing global energy stability, and maintaining a stable domestic energy economy.”
They noted that Florida is an “energy-exporting state,” whose ties also extend to Asia. Through Florida, the LNG portion of the U.S. fossil fuel industry has “significantly contributed” to the energy security of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and India, just for starters.
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“With these nations collectively accounting for one-fifth of U.S. LNG exports, it is evident that Florida’s role transcends regional boundaries, making a substantial contribution to global energy stability and providing them with a superior alternative to reliance on adversaries such as Communist China for energy security,” the lawmakers added.
But then they hit Biden where it may hurt most: on green energy and reduced emissions.
Florida holds a “unique position” in the LNG market to hold down global carbon emissions, but that is “hampered” by encouraging other nations to buy fuel from “malign, anti-American regimes with less stringent environmental regulations,” including Russia, China, Venezuela and Iran.
“Further, in the long term, this misguided policy propels these adversaries to develop or gain more future LNG market share, contravening U.S. policy by enriching Putin, Maduro, and the mullahs in Iran and diminishing the impact of U.S. and global sanctions,” the letter noted.
“We strongly urge you to reconsider your actions that impede America’s future leadership on LNG exports and properly align your policy review with continued real-world needs,” they wrote.
“This includes allowing the LNG export review process to continue unencumbered while your new green climate activist political appeasement review is undertaken. At a time when the world is teetering on the edge of World War III, depriving America of continued leadership growth over a reliable and comparatively clean form of energy is harmful at best and maniacal at worst.”
“The security of our nation, partnership with our allies, progress on emissions reduction, stability of global energy markets, and future job development in Florida and across our nation, should not all be put on ‘pause’ while the Department of Energy does its own internal assessments,” the lawmakers concluded.
“Representing the great state of Florida, we believe it is our duty to champion, rather than undermine, the crucial contributions of American LNG exports and the associated environmental, economic, and national security benefits for our state, our country, and our allies.”
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Joining Scott and Rubio in signing the letter were GOP Reps. John Rutherford, Byron Donalds, Anna Paulina Luna, Scott Franklin, Gus Bilirakis, Aaron Bean, Kat Cammack, Maria Elvira Salazar, Daniel Webster, Bill Posey, Cory Mills, Neal Dunn and Mario Diaz-Balart.
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