WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) on March 8 released the following statement regarding President Biden’s announcement that the United States will ban the import of Russian oil in response to Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine:

“While I’m pleased that President Biden is banning all U.S. imports of Russian energy and oil, he still refuses to reverse his anti-energy policies that would make our country more energy independent, enhance our national security, and lessen the pain on American families dealing with high energy and food costs.

“On day one of his presidency, President Biden canceled the Keystone XL Pipeline while approving Putin’s Nord Stream 2 Pipeline and placed a ban on new oil and gas leases. At our height, the U.S. was producing 12.9 million barrels of oil per day in December 2019, while backfilling our Strategic Petroleum Reserve. At the end of 2021, the U.S. was producing only 11.5 million barrels per day – 1.4 million barrels less than our known potential.

“If Biden wants to ease the financial burden on American families, he must admit his far-left energy policies have failed and simultaneously ramp up domestic energy production to our full capacity, as I and many of my colleagues have previously said. Republicans put a bill on the floor last week to do exactly that, and 220 Democrats voted against it. Banning Russian energy imports without investing in our own energy production will not be enough. Without this investment, American families will continue to suffer.”