Condemning the Biden administration's plans for seeking to remove sanctions on the oppressive Maduro regime and negotiating with Iran in response to the crisis in Ukraine, and instead calling for Congress and the administration to support the production of American energy.

Whereas the United States was a net energy exporter before President Biden took office; Whereas America’s energy independence ended within 1 year of the Biden Presidency; Whereas President Biden’s hostile policies toward American energy production discouraged investment in domestic energy infrastructure and production; Whereas President Biden issued Executive orders to revoke permitting for the Keystone XL Pipeline and issued a moratorium on energy production on Federal lands on day 1 of his Presidency; Whereas President Biden supported the Russian oil industry by refusing to sanction the Nord Stream 2 pipeline; Whereas a lack of domestically produced energy forces the United States to rely on imported oil; Whereas because of the suspension of Russian oil imports after Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, officials in the Biden administration have met with Venezuelan and Iranian officials to negotiate oil imports to replace banned Russian oil imports; Whereas President Biden’s Department of State acknowledges that the Governments of Venezuela and Iran frequently violate the human rights of their citizens with arbitrary arrests, use of torture, extrajudicial killings, State-sanctioned murder of protestors, and the holding of prisoners of conscience; Whereas, on January 28, 2019, the Trump administration imposed sanctions that prohibit the importation of Venezuelan oil in response to the Maduro regime’s subversion of democratically elected President of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó; Whereas, instead of importing oil from another autocratic regime and enriching human rights abusers, the oil that United States consumers need could be produced domestically; Whereas increasing oil and natural gas production in the United States will significantly reduce energy costs for American households and reduce the inflationary burden faced by American families; and Whereas unleashing the full force of the patriotic and hard-working United States energy producers to supply the needs of Europe and reduce their reliance on Russian energy will significantly reduce the ability of Russian war criminal Vladimir Putin to fund his genocidal attack against the free people of the democratic Nation of Ukraine: Now, therefore, be it That— (1) the House of Representatives calls on the Biden administration and its officials to maintain the sanctions on the repressive regimes in Venezuela and Iran; and (2) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that— (A) American energy independence should be achieved again for the sake of United States national security and the security of United States allies; (B) President Biden should immediately rescind his Executive orders that prohibit the approval of new leases on Federal lands and waters; and (C) President Biden should immediately take action to reestablish American energy independence, including by— (i) authorizing the completion of the Keystone XL Pipeline; (ii) streamlining the approval of new leases on Federal lands and waters; (iii) addressing regulatory burdens on domestic energy production; and (iv) increasing United States energy exports, particularly to European allies of the United States.

Summary: This resolution calls on the Biden administration and its officials to maintain the sanctions on the repressive regimes in Venezuela and Iran. The resolution also expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that American energy independence should be achieved again for the sake of U.S. national security and the security of U.S. allies; and President Biden should immediately rescind his Executive Orders that prohibit the approval of new leases on federal lands and waters, and should immediately take actions to reestablish American energy independence.