Rep. Yvette Herrell (R-N.M.) said the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have exposed why the United States needs to produce energy and the most essential medicines here at home.
“We need to create and substantiate our energy independence, which we had just a few short months ago,” Herrell told host of NTD’s Capitol Report Steve Lance during a recent interview, “so we are not reliant on Russia or other foreign countries for oil.”
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, “New Mexico had record-high production of crude oil and natural gas in March 2021, averaging 1.16 million barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil and 6.19 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas.”
Herrell introduced the American Energy Security and Transparency Act, legislation that would help the United States achieve energy independence in the wake of recent sanctions that had to be imposed on Russian oil.
She also urged President Joe Biden to bring back the Keystone XL Pipeline project that would have transported much-needed oil from Canada to the United States, adding that the United States produces oil with less pollution than other countries.
Biden canceled the Keystone pipeline in 2021 through executive order (EO), which in 2017, President Trump had resumed, also through executive action.
According to a 2017 State Department report, construction would contribute $3.4 billion to the nation’s output. That’s about 0.02 percent of the $18 trillion U.S. economy. They also estimated that Keystone XL would generate $70 million in new state and local taxes along the route during construction and $55.6 million in property taxes once oil started flowing.
The pipeline would have transported over 800,000 barrels of oil per day.
“Since taking office, the Biden Administration has yet to hold an onshore oil and gas lease sale, in direct violation of the federal law,” Herrell said in a press statement. “The Department of the Interior (DOI) is also stalling hundreds of permits for energy operations on federal lands, which is artificially limiting our energy supply.”
Biden, along with Keystone, in the same EO halted all drilling on federal land until analysis could be completed, which some states have sued the administration for, claiming the EO was unlawful.
Herrell also warned against relying on another adversary, China’s Communist Party.
“I think as a nation, we need to be looking at the bigger picture and ensure that history doesn’t repeat itself, as in China, looking at Taiwan, looking back now to see what Russia has done with Ukraine.”
“But one of the things I think we have to and must do is ensure that we are not reliant on our adversaries for medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, which we are right now with China. So, let’s bring that manufacturing home, let’s ensure that we are putting all of our assets in America, investing in Americans, and utilizing the resources and the bright minds we have here.”
China is the dominant supplier of thousands of medicines found in U.S. homes and hospitals, from antibiotics to chemotherapies, from HIV/AIDS drugs to antidepressants and painkillers.
Herrell introduced The Protecting American Lives Act, which requires the Food and Drug Administration to assess which regulations prevent the United States from producing essential medication here at home.
By Masooma Haq and Steve Lance
