U.S. Rep. Gottheimer to introduce Ban Russian Energy Imports Act

Vernon. U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-5) will introduce legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives to ban Russian oil and petroleum from being imported to the United States.

It is companion legislation to the U.S. Senate’s bipartisan Ban Russian Energy Imports Act, which the Senate passed on Saturday.

“I’m proud to join forces — both across the aisle and across chambers — to help lead this critical bipartisan bill to ban Russian oil and petroleum from being imported to the United States,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer. “We have the opportunity to cut off Putin’s largest revenue source, to support America’s own energy independence and security, and to work with our allies to stabilize the global energy market to help us mitigate rising energy costs for our hardworking families.”

The Ban Russian Energy Imports Act would declare a national emergency specifically with respect to the threat to national security, foreign policy, and economy posed by Russian aggression against Ukraine. It directs the President to prohibit imports of crude oil, petroleum, petroleum products, LNG, and coal from Russia.

The President has had the authority to take these actions since 1917, said Gottheimer, and this legislation does not grant additional authority. This approach is modeled on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

The ban would be in place during the national emergency, and either the president or Congress would be able to terminate the emergency and the import ban.

The bill exempts product already loaded or in transit at the time of enactment.

In 2021, the United States imported an average of 670,000 barrels of oil and petroleum products, with a high of 848,000 barrels per day in June 2021, with imports up 24% in 2021 over 2020, Gottheimer said. The U.S. has also imported Russian LNG and coal despite having some of the largest reserves domestically. He said this import strategy puts American national security at risk and supports Vladimir Putin’s ability to stay in power.

“The world is watching in shock as Russia wages an unprovoked war on Ukraine, killing innocents as it attempts to destroy a fragile democracy,” said Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, who, with Senator Joe Manchin, Democrat of West Virginia, is sponsoring the legislation in the Senate. “While the Biden administration has taken noteworthy steps to try to convince Vladimir Putin and his regime to stand down, we need an all-encompassing approach that uses every viable tool at our disposal. 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.”