This week our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Ukraine.
The harrowing images and videos of Russian forces indiscriminately attacking Ukrainian cities are a stark reminder of what happens when the world lacks strong American leadership. Make no mistake, this is a brutal assault on a sovereign nation by a petty dictator to destroy the democratic nation of Ukraine. Russian President Putin and his cronies must be held accountable for their crimes.
I have been proud to serve our country, including in times of war, and I know firsthand the horrors of combat. In the coming days I will be taking aggressive steps to demand that President Biden reverse course to finally impose crippling costs on Vladimir Putin and prevent further death and destruction in Ukraine; to fully defend the United States and our allies from malign actors and enemies.
Now is the time for strength, not weakness.
We need a leader who is willing to stand up to Putin and defend the United States - one that will provide real solutions. We need President Biden to vocally commit to unleashing American energy producers to secure our country and our allies. Additionally, we need to re-open North American pipelines, approve all LNG facility permits, and to pass my Midland Over Moscow bill - which will strengthen U.S. energy independence and make American allies less dependent on Russian oil & gas.
As Russian tanks roll into Ukraine, President Biden is still working to decimate American oil and gas production—even though we produce the cleanest energy in the world. Texas, and specifically the Permian Basin, is essential in defending democracy. As the largest oil producing region in the nation, our district will play a key role in providing fuel as Putin threatens a chokehold on the world's energy supply.
We must stand strong and reaffirm our commitment to American-made oil, and American national security. Yet President Biden's anti-American energy policies made our allies more dependent on Russian oil and gas than ever before. This, coupled with the sequence of failures at home and abroad, created an environment of weakness and opportunity for Putin to strike. The United States and her allies should not be reliant on our enemies for energy. It is far past time to put Midland over Moscow!
My bill, the Midland Over Moscow Act, will strengthen U.S. energy independence and make American allies less dependent on Russian oil & gas. It will force the Biden Administration to develop an energy security strategy and fuel the world with American—not Russian—energy.
