Kennedy on LNG permitting pause: Pres. Biden a “sock puppet” for neo-socialists

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), the ranking member of the Energy and Water Subcommittee on Appropriations, today condemned the Biden administration’s moratorium on permitting for liquified natural gas (LNG) exports.

Remarks from Kennedy are below.

“When I first heard about President Biden’s moratorium on new liquefied natural gas export terminals, two words came to my mind: energy suicide. With his moratorium, President Biden is trying to commit energy suicide for America and for the West.

“I think we’ve known for some time that on too many occasions, with respect to too many issues, President Biden has been a sock puppet for a faction of neo-socialist Americans who think our country was wicked when it was founded and that it’s even more wicked today.

“This faction, aided by President Biden, thinks that our country should be torn down and rebuilt by them, of course, and now, with the assistance of the president, they have turned their sights to America’s hard-earned—hard-earned—energy independence.

“With this moratorium, it is clear to me more than it’s ever been, that President Biden’s new energy policy is as follows: Instead of America using its own oil and gas, we should buy our energy from countries that hate us, so those countries that hate us will have more money to buy weapons to try to kill us.

“This new moratorium is going to hurt our economy, it’s going to hurt the American people, and it’s going to hurt our friends, particularly in Europe.

“Stupidity should hurt more. I’ve watched President Biden do a lot of foolish things, but it’s clear to me with this decision that it’s getting worse. President Biden—he’s worse than he used to be, and he wasn’t great then.”

Background:

• On Jan. 30, Kennedy penned a Wall Street Journal op-ed vowing to block President Biden’s nominees to the State Department and the Department of Energy until the administration stops its hostility towards LNG production.

• On Jan. 30, Kennedy and colleagues urged the administration to reverse its decision to pause permitting for LNG export facilities in the U.S., citing a threat to the industry. Louisiana’s Calcasieu Pass 2 project is among the 17 proposed LNG terminals Biden’s decision froze.

• On Jan. 18, prior to the Biden administration’s decision to halt permitting for LNG export facilities, Kennedy warned DOE Secretary Jennifer Graham about the administration’s burdensome permitting process.

• In April 2021, Kennedy wrote an op-ed outlining how Louisiana’s energy production could help meet the world’s demand for LNG.

Kennedy’s full remarks are available here.