Gabbard says 'responsible' US energy independence is possible, as left and right battle over bans
Republicans in New York and Pennsylvania further called for their vast gas reserves to be utilized.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}As President Biden prepares to meet with the Saudis whom he called "pariahs" and engaged with Venezuelan autocrat Nicolas Maduro via emissaries to seek oil purchasing deals, former Hawaii Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard agreed with some Republicans that the answers to America's energy crisis may exist at home.
On "Hannity," host Sean Hannity floated the idea that Democrats should press Biden to retroactively re-approve the Keystone XL pipeline, which he said would send nearly 1 million barrels of Canadian oil into the U.S.
Gabbard replied she would be supportive of any plan that ensures energy security in a way that serves America's interests, with an emphasis on still being environmentally responsible.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}When asked about President Trump's successful opening of a section of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to speculation – which Biden has since undone and re-shuttered – Gabbard said that whether it is the pipeline or oil speculation, American has the resources to extract energy so long as it is responsibly done.
GINGRICH BLASTS PENNSYLVANIA DEMOCRATS' ENTRY INTO RGGI GREEN ENERGY PACT
An oil pumpjack operates in the drive-thru area of a McDonald's in Bradford, Pennsylvania. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)
"I can say broadly, [Biden] has put restrictions in place that have inhibited our ability to be able to provide the energy that the American people need, especially during this critical time," she said, adding that in some cases, domestic energy speculation has led to aquifer contamination.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Proponents and opponents of natural gas fracking often clash on the matter, as former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo banned fracking in the Empire State's gas-rich Southern Tier over environmental concerns – which critics said led to negative economic incongruities with Pennsylvania communities just across the border.
However, Gov. Thomas Wolf of Pennsylvania – where the American oil industry was born with the drilling of the first U.S. well in 1859 – later placed a moratorium on speculative leases in state forests.
YOUNGKIN PLANS TO WITHDRAW FROM RGGI INTERSTATE CLIMATE PACT
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Biden and Vice President Harris (Drew Angerer/Getty)
The two states, along with several others including Rhode Island and New Jersey further signed on to the RGGI cap-and-trade pact, which reportedly will spike home energy costs in many of the member states.
As the 2022 elections approach, leading gubernatorial candidates in both states spoke out against that opposition:
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Pennsylvania's Doug Mastriano recently pledged to make his state "the spark that ignites America's energy independence," while lamenting a situation during a recent particularly cold Boston winter where utilities reportedly turned to Siberia, not Pennsylvania for their natural gas needs.
New York's Lee Zeldin recently told Binghamton media safe extraction from the same Marcellus Shale shared with his southern neighbor will unleash an economic boom in struggling communities along the Route 17 corridor.