A dozen House Democrats wrote to President Joe Biden on Friday, urging him to “prioritize and expedite” reviews for natural gas export terminals that will send fuel to Ukraine despite the administration’s pause on new approvals for export hubs.
The 12 lawmakers characterized their request as one made out of concern for long-term energy security for Ukraine and America’s other allies in Eastern Europe, arguing that allowing allies to secure U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply will help keep Russia at bay and benefit America’s geopolitical interests. The Biden-Harris administration announced a moratorium on new approvals for certain LNG export terminals in January, a policy that has remained in place since despite concerns that the freeze could benefit producers in countries including Russia and Qatar.
The letter’s signatories are Democratic Reps. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, Jim Costa of California, Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, Lou Correa of California, Donald Davis of North Carolina, Sylvia Garcia of Texas, Vicente Gonzales of Texas, Mary Peltola of Alaska, Marc Veasey of Texas, Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington and Susan Wild of Pennsylvania. Notably, seven of the signatories — Kaptur, Deluzio, Correa, Davis, Garcia, Houlahan and Wild — voted in February against the “Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act,” which would effectively overturn the LNG approvals pause if it becomes law.
Dems LNG Letter POTUS by Nick Pope
“Any delays to providing additional supplies of LNG to Ukraine and our Eastern European allies could jeopardize European energy security and market stability in the long-term,” the lawmakers wrote. “Typical gas offtake contracts are measured in years, not months, and are underpinned by certainty. We should not send mixed signals to our allies who want to eliminate their reliance on Vladimir Putin for good. We believe that the United States must demonstrate its commitment to supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty and resilience amidst ongoing threats by prioritizing and expediting review of projects that will supply LNG to Ukraine and Eastern Europe.”
The energy situation for Ukraine could become especially dire or unstable if the country’s major gas deal with Russian giant Gazprom expires at the end of the year without suitable replacement supply lined up, the lawmakers added.
The administration’s moratorium applies specifically to terminals that would export LNG to non-Free Trade Agreement countries. The Department of Energy (DOE) has only issued an approval for one such facility since the pause came into effect, but energy sector experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the green light was more likely a political move to help the Harris campaign fend off attacks on the i_ssue rather than a sign to developers with bigger projects in the queue that the freeze is coming to an end.
While the Biden-Harris administration said that the pause is to enable the DOE to review the climate impacts of new terminals alongside economic and security considerations, energy sector experts have argued that the pause could bolster the market positions of producers in places like Russia and Qatar that produce gas less cleanly than American companies. The lawmakers mention this aspect of the policy in their letter, expressing to Biden their belief that America can “balance [its] environmental commitments with the need to provide reliable energy to [its] European allies.”
The offices of Kaptur, Costa, Deluzio, Correa, Davis, Garcia, Gonzalez, Peltola, Veasey, Houlahan, Gluesenkamp Perez and Wild did not respond immediately to requests for comment. The White House also did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
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