On January 26, 2024, President Biden announced an indefinite 'pause' on all pending approvals of liquified natural gas, or LNG, exports. This week, Congressman Allen joined his colleagues in calling out this decision that only serves to jeopardize American energy security, jobs, and our economy.
On Monday, Congressman Allen participated in a special order on the House floor sounding the alarm on the President's destructive action. Excerpts from his speech can be found below:
"Under the guise of climate change, this blatantly political decision will only serve to eliminate American jobs, increase costs for American consumers, and further jeopardize U.S. energy security – all to appease climate extremists and prop up President Biden’s rush-to-green agenda...
"Studies show that LNG exports could increase the U.S. economy by over $73 billion by 2040 and could create more than 453,000 American jobs... indefinitely banning exports of LNG will not lower the cost of energy. We need to open our markets and domestic energy production to lower costs for the American people.
"Now more than ever, we need to embrace an all-of-the-above energy strategy and unleash the production and export of clean, affordable, and reliable American LNG to further reduce emissions... President Biden's war on American energy is undermining our national security, and as Chair Rodgers said, 'this is nothing more than a gift to Putin.'"
Additionally, Congressman Allen participated in the Energy and Commerce Committee's Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee Hearing entitled: "Politics Over People: How Biden’s LNG Export Ban Threatens America’s Energy and Economic Security”
During the hearing, Congressman Allen asked Eric Cormier, Senior Vice President of Entrepreneurship and Strategic Initiatives at the Southwest Louisiana Chamber Economic Development Alliance, to elaborate on how important LNG exports are for his region economically.
Mr. Cormier responded: "It brings pride because in our neck of the woods, people want to work... We have kids in our community college, they're being trained, they're ready to work. They want to rebuild, stay home, and continue moving forward... With our community it comes down to one thing: we want to take care of ourselves and take care of our community and this is one way we do it."
Watch Congressman Allen's full line of questioning HERE.
Congressman Allen also joined more than 150 of his House Republican colleagues, led by Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), in sending a letter to President Biden slamming his de facto ban on LNG exports.
The Members write in the letter: "This is economically and strategically dangerous and unnecessary. Under both Democratic and Republican administrations, DOE has consistently found that U.S. LNG exports serve the 'public interest' because they contribute positive economic benefits and strengthen energy security for the American people, and also have the potential to reduce global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions...
"We urge you to end this unnecessary review and expeditiously approve all pending applications to increase the global supply of natural gas."
