Canada schools the United States in energy independence

Americans love to come out in front when it comes to the relationship with our next-door neighbor to the north. There’s almost nothing we want to cede to our Canadian friends that we can produce more of or do better. 

Unfortunately, our dominance is ending under the inept administration of Joe Biden, particularly when it comes to energy independence. 

Recently, the Canadians concluded their Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion construction, which will give the North American country a boon in oil production and shipping capabilities from Edmonton to the west coast around Vancouver. 

The Canadians' Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion will give the North American country a boon in oil production and shipping capabilities from Edmonton to the west coast around Vancouver. (Getty Images)

Despite an ongoing fight with radical environmental groups, the Canadian government astutely realized the importance of finishing this project to help strengthen the country’s standing in the world.

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Thanks to a major addition to the Canadian oil pipeline infrastructure, Americans, especially in the Midwest, might encounter higher prices at the pump due to the likely increase in buyers for the vital natural resource. This encumbrance will give families yet another inconvenience when they fill up their vehicles.

I applaud the Canadians for their commitment to energy independence and to protecting their nation’s interest against the agenda of environmentalists. These are admirable priorities that every nation should be pursuing. Future generations of Canadians will assuredly benefit from their government’s actions on this front.

Unfortunately, while the Canadians may be entering an era of enhanced energy independence, the United States is free falling into one of increased energy dependence fraught with national security dangers because of the policies of President Biden and his empowered bureaucrats in federal agencies. 

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In fact, one of Biden’s first moves as commander in chief on Jan. 20, 2021, was to cancel the Keystone XL Pipeline in our nation, which cost the country billions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs.

In response, I introduced a resolution to disapprove of the administration’s decision to cancel the permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline. Canceling this pipeline was just the first in a long line of reckless decisions from Biden that undermined our energy security. 

House Republicans included my resolution in a broader energy package, H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act, which passed our chamber last year. The Democrat-controlled Senate still has not taken this proposal up for consideration.

The Biden administration isn’t just stopping construction of critical energy pipelines through the United States; it is simultaneously making a sport of draining America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), meant for emergencies, to hide the president’s glaring energy policy failures. 

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When Biden took office in January 2021, the SPR held 638 million barrels, but was down to near 350 million barrels after the administration’s release of hundreds of millions of barrels during 2022. Because of President Biden’s reckless actions, our oil reserve was at its lowest level in 40 years, posing a threat to our country in the event of a real emergency. Our enemies were definitely monitoring this situation – and may even still be attempting to exploit our weakness.

Yet this administration has no real plan to unleash American energy production to replenish our emergency oil supply and reduce prices.

To make matters even worse, with the administration’s periodic selling of our emergency oil reserve at an unprecedented rate, hundreds of thousands of these barrels of oil have gone to Communist China. American oil exports to China increased 88% from 2022 to 2023, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. China may now have the largest government-controlled stockpile of oil in the world, in part, due to the Biden administration.

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This is why House Republicans delivered on our promise to restore America’s energy supply and security. We have passed several bills to accomplish these goals, including The Strategic Production Response Act and the Protecting America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act. These two bills have also awaited action in the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate for the past year.

The Strategic Production Response Act ensures that any non-emergency SPR release is accompanied by a plan to increase the percentage of federal lands and waters leased for oil and gas exploration. This bill represents a critical step in unleashing our domestic energy production, increasing our emergency supply and protecting our nation’s energy security.

The Protecting America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act stops the Biden administration from selling any more of our emergency supply to our adversary, China, or any entity owned or controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. House Republicans will continue to stand up to China and stop the Biden administration from ceding our energy security to our enemies.

Despite the critical issues our nation faces with the Biden administration’s efforts to cripple America’s energy security and future, House Republicans are taking action to stand up to Communist China and promote our energy security. We will not cede energy superiority to Canada – or any other world nation. 

We will continue to fight for the return of American energy independence; the price of inaction or the status quo is too great for future generations.

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Republican Debbie Lesko represents Arizona's 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.