Climate Hawks Urge Biden To Reject Latest GOP Demand For Ukraine Aid | EUROtoday

WASHINGTON — Top progressives are urging President Joe Biden to face agency and reject an rising Republican plan that may situation U.S. help to Ukraine upon the Biden administration unfreezing approvals of latest liquefied pure gasoline, or LNG, export permits, which the administration placed on maintain in January to the delight of environmental teams.

“The desperate attempt to force the Biden Administration to reverse its pause on new LNG exports is clearly not what is right for American families, our economy, or our fight against climate chaos and autocrats across the globe,” Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) mentioned in a press release to HuffPost on Monday.

During an interview on Fox News over the weekend, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) steered resuming LNG allowing could be one “innovation” Republicans would search that may enable them to “unleash American energy [and] have national gas exports that will unfund Vladimir Putin’s war effort” in Ukraine.

Biden introduced a short lived pause on approvals of latest permits in January to look at their environmental impacts, citing knowledge exhibiting the U.S. as the primary exporter of LNG worldwide. The GOP-led House voted Feb. 15 to roll again the freeze, citing its impression on trade jobs, however the invoice will face lengthy odds as soon as it will get to the Democratic-held Senate.

It’s not clear but whether or not Democrats would comply with the GOP demand concerning LNG. Congress is on recess, and the House is anticipated to take up some type of international help package deal once they return to Washington subsequent week. But some progressives and environmental teams try to kill the thought.

“With our allies in Europe well-supplied by existing exports and the U.S. continuing to increase its LNG export capacity, now is the time to reexamine LNG’s impact on our climate and communities at home and take further climate action,” mentioned Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), the top-ranking Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee.

“The Biden administration and my Democratic colleagues must not abandon the climate and frontline communities just so Republicans can continue to line the pockets of Big Oil and Gas.”

“Speaker Johnson has backed himself into a corner, and he’s throwing out ideas to see what sticks with MAGA members in the House,” Merkley mentioned.

“His proposal is a clear example of the backward agenda from extreme-right Republican members. They are willing to both abandon the Ukrainian people’s fight for freedom, helping Putin, and raise energy prices for the American people so Big Oil can get rich selling dirty fossil gas to countries like China.”

Stevie O’Hanlon, a spokesman for Sunrise Movement, a youth-led local weather group, mentioned the Biden administration “can’t let Mike Johnson and his fossil fuel donors walk back this progress.”

“Pausing LNG exports is a popular, common-sense move. Gas companies shouldn’t be allowed to rake in billions of dollars in profit exporting gas abroad while working-class people are facing the threat of the climate crisis head-on,” O’Hanlon mentioned.

Johnson is a staunch supporter of the oil and gasoline trade, which is especially influential in his house state of Louisiana. He’s additionally obtained tons of of hundreds of {dollars} in marketing campaign contributions from fossil gas corporations.

There is bipartisan sentiment in each chambers of Congress that the House ought to merely take up the Senate-passed invoice that bundles collectively navy support for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and humanitarian support for Gaza, which Johnson hasn’t put up for vote within the House. A brand new spending package deal, if it passes within the House, would require one other vote within the Senate, delaying much-needed support to Ukraine.

“The Senate bill is bipartisan, it’s comprehensive and it’s the only viable way forward,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) informed reporters final month.

When requested Monday about ending the LNG pause as a situation for the help, Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) didn’t dismiss the thought outright however informed reporters on Capitol Hill that “opening up avenues like that is another delay.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has additionally been adamant that Republicans ought to keep away from different concepts, comparable to turning support to Ukraine right into a mortgage, as steered by former President Donald Trump and his allies, due to the added delays to the method.

A professional-Ukraine group referred to as Republicans for Ukraine additionally thinks voting on the Senate-passed invoice could be higher.

“Time is of the essence,” mentioned John Conway, the group’s technique director, in a press release to HuffPost. “Ukraine needs our help now. Whatever bill can get passed fastest, that’s what Congress should pass.”