On March 9, the U.S. House passed a bill that imposed a ban on Russia oil and tacked on extra sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
This legislation had broad bipartisan support. According to a report by The Hill, 414 House members voted for this legislation.
Despite the overwhelming bipartisan support for this bill, there were still representatives who deviated and voted against this bill. Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie was notable among them.
Massie voted against the bill on the grounds that the Biden administration did not lay out plans for boosting energy production and how it turned to despotic petrostates such as Iran and Venezuela for a last minute oil bailout.
“Biden has no plan to enable development of traditional domestic energy sources,” Massie proclaimed. “His plan is to buy oil from dictators in other countries, and to use high gas prices to bludgeon American consumers into adopting a leftist energy agenda.”
The other elected officials who voted against this legislation were:
Cori Bush D-MO
Ilhan Omar D-Minn.
Andy Biggs R-AZ
Marjorie Taylor Greene R-GA
Louie Gohmert R-TX
Dan Bishop R-NC
Glenn Grothman R-WI
Lauren Boebert R-CO
Tom Tiffany R-WI
Matt Gaetz R-FL
Clay Higgins R-LA
Scott DesJarlais R-TN
Madison Cawthorn R-NC
Bill Posey R-FL
Chip Roy R-TX
Massie is on the mark here. There’s no excuse for the U.S. to shackle its energy sector through the use of domestic regulations. Such regulations not only impoverish Americans through higher energy costs, but put the US in a geopolitically compromising position that makes it dependent on adversaries for basic energy needs.
Instead of going to war or pursuing regime change, the U.S. should work to shore itself up domestically. Weakness at home ultimately leads to weakness abroad.
