Banning Russian Oil Must be Coupled with American Production

March 8, 2022

Today, President Biden announced that the United States would be banning Russian oil imports in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. After openly begging Putin to pump more oil last summer to relieve high gas prices, the Biden administration is finally taking steps to block imports from the tyrant. 

The ban only came after a bipartisan outcry from Congress and the American people. According to a Quinnipiac University survey released on Monday, 71 percent backed a Russian oil ban even if it further increased gas prices, with 22 percent opposed. Eighty-two percent of Democrats, seven in ten independents and two-thirds of Republicans surveyed said they supported a ban.

But this move has not been coupled with an increase in American production. Daniel Turner, the executive director of Power The Future blasted the Biden Administration for not prioritizing American energy producers and begging other adversaries of the United States for more oil. 

“The Biden Administration knows it is in a political free-fall. Removing Russian oil from our economy and global markets will only make sense if we make up the deficit with an increase in domestic production. If we really want to do something meaningful about gas prices and send a message to Putin that America is back, the Biden Administration should cease its war on American domestic energy producers by rolling back all the myriad of policies that have made it impossible to do their jobs. Instead, Biden and team are groveling to Venezuela and Iran, while urging Americans to just buy $65,000 electric cars. This Administration is as tone deaf as it is ineffective, and is driven by the need to satisfy the green left above everyone else.”

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Power The Future has called for a “Sanctions Plus Production” strategy in response. Only ramping up American energy production, along with sanctions will send a clear message to Vladimir Putin.