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Floor Speech

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Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, the Biden administration, in the last few days, has made another reckless attempt to try to appease its more radical aspects of its political base--in this case, leftwing climate activists.

Last week, the administration halted new liquefied natural gas projects, effectively chilling new investments in the industry that powers the United States and many of our closest allies. Had the administration announced this decision 3 years ago, it would have been dangerous and shortsighted. But given the state of the world today, this step is almost unthinkable.

Russia's unprovoked war in Ukraine is nearing the 2-year mark. Iran's terrorist proxies are unleashing chaos on the Middle East, and China is responsible for growing tensions in the Indo-Pacific. This is an extremely fraught time--I think we would all have to agree--given that the instigators of each of these conflicts are three of the world's largest natural gas producers.

This is an extremely risky time for energy security. Fortunately, the United States is in a uniquely strong position to temper those risks. We are the world's largest natural gas producer, and, last year, we became the largest LNG exporter. That means energy produced in America, creating American jobs, helping to grow our economy, is being exported to countries all around the world that don't have access to those natural resources.

Around the globe, American LNG supports the energy security of our friends and allies. If they are importing American energy, they don't have to worry about some rogue dictator cutting off the gas with a moment's notice.

Sadly, many of our friends in Europe had to learn this the hard way, after the invasion by Russia of Ukraine, because much of Europe had a single supplier of their energy needs. In 2009, Russia effectively turned off the gas to Ukraine for almost 3 weeks, using that energy supply as a weapon. This affected at least 10 countries in Europe whose natural gas traveled in a pipeline through Ukraine.

In many ways, this should have been a wake-up call for the United States and our allies about the dangers of energy dependence, the lack of diversity in the supply. Relying on anyone--any country--for basic needs like heating, electricity, and fuel creates serious vulnerability, but relying on an adversary, as Europe did, is downright dangerous.

Over the last 15 years, our friends in Europe have been working to diversify their energy supply and reduce their reliance on Russia.

I remember John McCain, our former colleague, saying: ``Russia is a gas station masquerading as a country.'' It is their principal export and what they use to fuel their economy and, unfortunately, what they use to arm themselves when they invade neighboring countries like Ukraine.

So oil and gas is how they do that, and they somehow had convinced the Europeans that they were a reliable, sole source for that energy.

Well, they learned the hard way after Russia invaded Ukraine. Following Russia's invasion, Putin became persona non grata on the world stage. No one wanted to do business with Russia. They didn't want to purchase Russian oil and gas that would help Putin finance his barbaric war, and they certainly didn't want their energy supply to be subject to the whims of a cruel and vindictive dictator.

Our friends in Europe turned to the United States for LNG, and, fortunately, we were able to fill the gap. Liquefied natural gas exports to Europe more than doubled between 2021 and 2022. That was only possible because of America's energy producers.

You know, it wasn't that long ago I remember we were seeing terminals built for the importation of liquefied natural gas from other parts of the world to the United States. But it is a testament to the innovation and the investment in America's natural resources that allowed, as I said, America to be the No. 1 exporter. So rather than importing that energy from other countries, we are supplying that energy to friends and allies around the world.

Thanks to our energy industry and the incredible men and women behind it, we had the supply, the export terminals, and the ability to send our allies the energy they needed at a critical moment. Had this freeze been issued several years ago--the one President Biden announced last week--that may not have been the case because producers can't ramp up production and increase exports overnight. It requires a lot of preparation. It requires infrastructure. It requires deploying your assets strategically. It is not like a faucet you can turn off and on in an instant. The production of energy takes time, investment, infrastructure, and a whole lot of certainty because investors will not invest in something that does not have a reasonable chance of producing a return. Now, with the stroke of a pen, President Biden has virtually eliminated that certainty.

President Biden's pause, as he calls it, has thrown future LNG projects into limbo, and our allies are understandably spooked. They don't know if they can continue to count on the United States for the affordable energy they need to keep the lights on, to heat their homes, and to cook their food.

The Biden administration has offered some ambiguous assurances that this decision won't impact our ability to export LNG to our allies in the near term--whatever that means--but it doesn't offer much peace of mind, and it certainly doesn't offer the sort of predictability that the marketplace needs in order to incentivize investment in this energy production. So our allies now are left to question if or when American LNG will stop serving global markets. Today, they are wondering if they should ride this wave while they can or whether it is time to start looking for another seller.

The Biden administration has created unnecessary chaos and confusion on our allies, and for what? A new talking point in a political campaign ad? It just does not make sense in any other context.

It simply is disingenuous to suggest that this is a way to combat climate change, because curbing LNG exports won't change the reality of the situation we are in today. If countries can't get access to relatively clean natural gas, what are they going to use? Coal, for example? Certainly nothing as clean as American-produced liquefied natural gas. They can't just flip a switch and turn to wind, solar, and renewables. At the end of the day, they are going to need fossil fuels for a baseload to keep the lights on.

Texas, I am proud to say, is an ``all of the above'' State. We produce more electricity from wind than any other State in the Nation. I know we are thought of as exclusively an oil and gas State, but that is simply not factually true, although the Permian Basin, for example, does produce the lion's share of natural gas for not only America but that we use for export.

At the end of the day, we are going to have to transition. I know people think--again, some people in their fevered dreams think that you can automatically do away with fossil fuels and go to wind turbines and solar panels and renewables. Well, we do need to transition, but we can't transition overnight. It is going to take time.

I believe America's innovators, our job creators, will come up with other ways to generate access to energy that will allow us over time to transition. It is inevitable. We have always been in a period of transition. But it can't be forced overnight like the Biden administration seems to think it can.

Well, as I said, maybe our allies will turn to coal. Maybe they will purchase natural gas from Russia again or Saudi Arabia, which don't have nearly the same environmental standards we have in the United States. At the end of the day, one thing is certain: Restricting the supply of American liquefied natural gas isn't going to make the world's energy consumption any cleaner, and it is sure to jeopardize global energy security.

Once again, President Biden has missed the forest for the trees. He is so focused on pleasing climate activists that he has lost sight of the bigger picture. American LNG is not the enemy here. In fact, it is a vital security tool.

We have to uplift our closest allies and provide energy at an affordable cost to American families. It gives other countries the ability to source their energy from a stable democracy rather than a temperamental or volatile dictator, and it gives countries lower emissions options--something you would think the Biden administration would want to encourage. Of course, as I mentioned, it creates jobs in places like Texas, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania and lifts up the entire U.S. economy.

The Biden administration's decision to halt new export projects puts all that in jeopardy at the worst possible time. It weakens U.S. energy security, it kills American jobs, it kneecaps our energy industry, and it sends more business to Russia and Iran.

This isn't a climate victory. It isn't an economic victory. It certainly isn't a victory for our security. This is an unforced error and a pretty transparent attempt to try to please climate activists. The climate-first approach to energy policy isn't just foolish, it is extremely dangerous. It is hurting our allies and helping our adversaries.

But I want to be clear. I support efforts to diversify our energy sources and reduce emissions. As I mentioned, my State has embraced an ``all of the above'' energy strategy, which includes oil and gas, solar, wind, and nuclear. But on top of that, Texas-based companies are making enormous strides in energy innovation. Every day, they are finding new ways to make our most prevalent and affordable energy sources cleaner.

I believe we should do more to encourage innovation and diversify our energy sources, but those efforts must come second to energy security. Our top priority must be to ensure the United States and our allies have access to the energy they need to keep the lights on. It is embarrassing that even after what we have witnessed over the last few years, President Biden still hasn't learned that important lesson.

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