By Kevin Mooney
September 23, 2021

Members of the Biden administration from the president on down who peddled unsubstantiated allegations about Russian collusion with Donald Trump have some explaining to do.

That’s because Mother Russia is now benefitting from President Biden’s anti-energy policies in general, and from his hostility toward U.S. oil and gas, in particular.

Suddenly, Russia is the number two oil importer to the U.S. behind only Canada. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that U.S. imports of oil and refined petroleum products from Russia increased by 23% in May to 844,000 barrels a day from the prior month.

There is no natural process of osmosis at work here. America is more reliant on Russian oil than it was just a few months ago under Trump because of deliberate public decisions made under Biden that put America last. In January, Biden canceled the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have pumped vital oil resources from Canada into the U.S. He then proceeded to withdraw the sanctions the Trump administration put in place enabling Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline to transfer natural gas to Germany without navigating its way through Ukraine.

Recall that it was just a few years ago that Biden favored the creation of a select committee to investigate allegations of collusion between Russia and Trump campaign officials.

The Institute for Energy Research, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit that favors free market energy policies, carefully unpackages the geopolitical fallout from Biden’s decision to oppose pipeline construction in the U.S. while removing obstacles for Russian pipelines.

“Instead of benefiting Russia, Keystone XL would have benefited the United States and our closest ally, IER explains in a press release. “Keystone XL would have not only supplied Gulf refineries with 830,000 barrels per day (730,000 Canada, 100,000 North Dakota Bakken) but also would have lifted prices paid to Canadian producers, encouraging new investments (and further pipelines) to tap Canada’s second-largest in the world proven reserves.”

The Biden administration waived sanctions on the corporation standing behind Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline, and by extension the company CEO , who is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Once again, recall it was Biden, and others now serving in his administration, who suggested that Trump would be favorably disposed toward Russia. But it was under Trump that America became energy independent for the first time in decades. As a further insult, the Biden administration has called on the Organization of the Oil Producing Countries (OPEC) to accelerate its oil production in response to rising energy prices.

Biden, for whatever reason, has a more congenial view of Russian energy initiatives than he does toward the infrastructure that makes it possible for energy supplies to flow across North America. Unfortunately, Biden’s America Last pipeline policies are just one small part of a larger picture.

The infrastructure bill and the reconciliation package now moving through Congress will devastate the American energy sector along with U.S. households that benefit the most from robust domestic development of oil and gas resources. The American Energy Alliance (AEA), a nonprofit consumer advocacy group, asks why federal taxpayers are being asked to foot the bill for electric vehicle subsidies to the tune of $7.5 billion instead of having the electric vehicle owners pay for electric car charging facilities themselves.

While the details about the reconciliation package remain vague, news reports anticipate the bill will include a tax on methane emissions, a border carbon tax and other anti-energy mandates.

The proposed tax on methane emissions will raise the cost of natural gas and consequently everything that natural gas is used for such as home heating while the border carbon tax will increase the costs of all goods coming into the U.S., according to an analysis from the American Energy Alliance.

The carbon border tax would impact everyday items like food, clothing, and construction materials used in cars and electronics. While the tax would be absorbed by all consumers, they would most directly impact individuals on fixed incomes.

But it’s not just Russia that’s scoring geopolitical points under Biden. The president’s pledge to mandate a carbon-free generation sector by 2035 means the U.S. will be forced to rely on inefficient, unreliable solar and wind technology. That’s a problem because China now dominates the market for lithium supplies used to manufacture batteries that can power so called renewable energy.

Bonner Cohen, a senior fellow with the National Center for Public Policy Research, delves into detail about Biden’s legislative agenda and his assault on American energy.

“The two pieces of legislation that would guide the U.S. into a green energy future come at a time when President Biden is asking the Organization of the Oil Producing Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including Russia, to boost oil production to counter rising gas prices at the pump,” Cohen said in an interview. “He notably did not turn to domestic producers to pump more oil. He is continuing his administration’s war on U.S. oil and gas producers, claiming their emissions pose a threat to the climate.  But somehow OPEC’s emissions are just fine. His plea to OPEC is an acknowledgement that windmills and solar panels—no matter how generous the subsidies—cannot supply the nation with the energy it needs.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline that brings Russian natural gas to Germany and beyond meets with Biden’s approval, but the Keystone XL pipeline that transports Canadian oil to U.S. refiners is killed.  His policies destroy American jobs, reduce the disposable incomes of consumers, and enrich OPEC, China, and Silicon Valley and Wall Street investors in green energy.”