Okay, so the irony of this is rather humorous!
Clearly, Musk is more known for the position:
But nonetheless, yesterday (March 4, 2022), Musk took to Twitter and proclaimed: “Hate to say it, but we need to increase oil & gas output immediately. Extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures” [Musk, E. Musk Twitter Thread. (Accessed March 5, 2022). Later, Musk added: “Obviously, this would negatively affect Tesla, but sustainable energy solutions simply cannot react instantaneously to make up for Russian oil & gas exports” [Id].
Both sides of the political aisle in the US have criticized the Biden Administration for failing to focus on domestic oil and gas production in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine. The argument exists that the US is financing Russia’s War efforts by its continued daily purchase of approximately 650,000 barrels of oil.
Earlier in the day yesterday, Bloomberg reported that the White House is considering banning imports of Russian oil into the United States. Meanwhile, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee introduced the Ban Russian Energy Imports Act, which in effect would ban the import of Russian crude oil, petroleum, petroleum products, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal to the United States.
The Manchin/Murkowski initiative is bipartisan in nature.
They were joined by Senators John Tester (D-MT), Susan Collins (R-ME), Angus King (I-ME), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Steve Daines (R-MT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mark Warner (D-VA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Rob Portman (R-OH). Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-1) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-5) will introduce companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
[Manchin, J. MANCHIN, MURKOWSKI LEAD BIPARTISAN EFFORT TO BAN RUSSIA ENERGY IMPORTS. (Accessed March 5, 2022)].
Manchin has stated: “The entire world is on edge as Vladimir Putin terrorizes the sovereign democratic nation of Ukraine. The U.S. cannot continue to purchase more than half a million barrels of oil per day because in doing so, we are emboldening Putin to continue using his greatest weapon of war – energy exports” [Id]. Murkowski has added: “By leaving Russia’s energy exports untouched, the United States is ignoring one of our most potent options to stop the bloodshed. We must ban Russia’s energy imports into the U.S. so that Americans aren’t forced to help finance their growing atrocities and halt the Russian aggression” [Id].
As noted above, the Manchin/Murkowski bill has bipartisan support. A sampling of responses from those supporting this bill include:
Senator Tester: “Banning Russian oil and gas imports will hit Putin where it hurts, our best response to rising gas prices should be increasing our domestic energy production from all sources and increasing trade with our allies, not buying from dictators who are actively invading sovereign nations. This critical step isolates and weakens Putin and the oligarchs who prop him up.” [Id].
Senator King: “The United States should not be relying on a malignant, war-hungry Putin to address our energy needs – and we shouldn’t be funding Russia’s efforts to occupy a peaceful nation. As long as Russia continues its brutal campaign against the Ukrainian people, the U.S. must take its business elsewhere.” [Id].
Senator Graham: “This proposal from Senators Manchin and Murkowski would be one of the most hard-hitting pushbacks against Putin in our arsenal. The Achilles heel of the Russian war machine and economy is the oil and gas sector. This legislation would do great damage to Putin’s main revenue source, making the world a safer and more stable place.” [Id].
Sen. Sullivan: “When America buys Russian oil, we fund Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine and his threats against the U.S. and our NATO partners. Simply put, continuing to import oil from Russia is national security suicide. We never should have been in this position. After all, we were energy independent during the Trump administration and the world’s top producer of all-of-the-above energy resources. The Biden administration’s relentless war on domestic energy production has nearly killed this critical strategic advantage, and the world is now reaping the consequences. The first step to regaining energy independence is ending the flow of Russian oil—the lifeblood of Putin’s corrupt regime—to our own country." [Id].
If interested, the full text of the Ban Russian Energy Imports Act may be found here
While the humor of the irony behind the scenes of the Musk tweet is inescapable, nonetheless, his call to action is not misplaced given the current disorder in the world.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: this article was originally published on Leo Finance and several other tribes on the Hive blockchain.
