December 17, 2024

Democratic Leaders Condemn Biden Administration LNG Report

(Washington, DC) – The Natural Allies Leadership Council, including former Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA), former Congressman Tim Ryan (D-OH), former Congressman Kendrick Meek (D-FL), and former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, issued the following statement regarding the Biden Administration’s report concerning U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals:

“It is deeply disappointing that the Biden Administration continues their assault on the exportation of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) when multiple independent reports have clearly shown the benefits of increased natural gas exports in reducing global emissions and strengthening America’s national security.

There is a strong consensus that increased U.S. LNG exports will not adversely impact domestic prices. In fact, we have a decade of federal data proving that rising U.S. LNG exports have not caused price spikes for Americans or impacted industrial competitiveness, even as the United States has  become the world’s largest exporter.  The Biden Administration’s false alarms of rising prices don’t hold up based on recent history.  Experts used similar scare tactics over a decade ago, projecting prices would rise by 50%, but in fact domestic prices have remained flat.

Limiting U.S. LNG exports threatens up to 900,00 American jobs, empowers adversaries like Russia and Iran with fewer environmental safeguards, and abdicates our leadership on mitigating global climate change. That’s because without U.S. LNG, developing countries will largely default to the most polluting energy source – coal – because it is affordable and available. A recent ICF study confirmed that without U.S. LNG in 2022, the world would have seen 112 million more tons of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), as LNG would not have been replaced by wind or solar – but rather replaced by coal and oil. 

Democrats must stop playing to the extremes and come together on a practical energy policy that balances our climate priorities, American jobs, affordability, and global security, all of which are served by natural gas partnered with renewables.”

###