The Hill - Liquified Natural Gas is the Answer to Biden's Energy Crisis

Op-Ed

Joe Biden turned his back on the American people when he pandered to far-left, radical environmentalists, and the consequences have been devastating.

Whether you drop off your kids at school, buy groceries for your family, or heat your home, every American feels the financial burden of Joe Biden's anti-energy agenda with middle- and lower-income families being the most disproportionately affected.

While the dishonest media and the White House will attempt to tell you that this is "Putin's Price Hike," don't be fooled--it belongs to Biden, and it has been going on long before the Russian invasion.

During his first days in office, he chose to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline, enforce a moratorium on federal oil and gas leasing, and reverse Trump-era policies that cut the bureaucratic red tape on energy transportation.

His disastrous choices have crippled the American energy sector and allowed nations like Russia to fill our energy vacuum.

Joe Biden has put us in a position of energy dependence, but there is still an opportunity to claw back to energy dominance. It starts by unshackling American producers' ability to transport America's safest and cleanest fossil fuel: liquified natural gas.

More than 65 million Americans use liquified natural gas (LNG) to heat their homes.

Natural gas is the cleanest and safest burning fossil fuel; it is odorless, non-toxic, and non-corrosive. LNG rapidly evaporates and leaves no residue when exposed to open air, and unlike other fossil fuels, it is not explosive.

LNG has the best safety record of all common fuel types.

While in office, President Trump smartly recognized that LNG would be key in making America the energy hub of the world.

On June 19, 2020--under President Trump's directive--the Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a final rule permitting the bulk transportation of liquified natural gas (LNG), in rail tank cars.

While common in Europe and Canada, LNG was previously only transportable by truck or in small portable tanks on rail. The 2020 rule permitted the exportation of LNG in specific Department of Transportation's (DOT) rail tanks cars engineered to ensure the safety and sophistication of LNG shipment. The ruling guaranteed all Americans would have access to safe, affordable, and reliable energy.

Unfortunately, the Biden administration canceled the LNG by rail rule and made it once again impossible to move LNG in the quantities needed to power America.

Without certainty provided by 2020 statute, the rail industry is unable to invest in the infrastructure needed to move LNG across the country.

Despite misinformation coming from left-wing environmental interest groups, transporting LNG by rail is one of the safest, most effective, and affordable ways to get energy to most parts of America.

That is why I have introduced a bill, H.R. 2100, that will codify the PHMSA final rule and prohibit DOT from issuing any regulations that bars LNG by rail.

Biden's energy crisis has demonstrated the dangers of Green New Deal policies and shown that we cannot rely on hostile countries to power our homes, schools and businesses. American gas should power American homes, and the best way for it to get there is by safely permitting the bulk transportation of LNG on our railways.

We must go back to a position of energy independence like we had under President Trump. That begins by ending Biden's crusade against fossil fuels, removing the shackles from reliable oil and gas producers, and expanding the current modes of energy transportation.

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