April 9, 2022
Dear Friends,
Since Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, gas prices have been on the rise. While big oil companies continue to rake in record profits and cut deals with dictators, hardworking people across our nation and our region have suffered increasing economic pain. This week, I joined Democrats on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce to hold a hearing questioning oil industry leaders on their decades-long ties with Russia and on the pain Americans are feeling at the pump with rising gas prices.
The oil industry has a long and notorious track record of investing in countries run by petro-dictators, including Russia. According to recent reporting, Shell, Exxon, and BP are among nine American and European companies that have paid more than $15.8 billion in taxes and fees to Russia even after it annexed Crimea in 2014. Those projects have helped to fund Vladimir Putin’s war chest and provide Russia with the operational and technical energy expertise that gives it leverage on the global stage. Time and again, the oil industry has shown that they put profits over people, over American interests, and over our planet. Lee Raymond, former CEO of Exxon, acknowledged as much when he declared that he “doesn’t make decisions based on what’s good for the United States.”
So, on Wednesday, I asked oil executives about their plans to exit the Russian market. The responses I heard were disturbing. Executives from multiple companies repeatedly refused to commit to specific timelines to divest from their significant Russian assets, and fundamentally failed to acknowledge the basic moral values at stake in this crisis, instead choosing to prioritize profits and line their own pockets. This moral failure was compounded by the fact that, while hardworking Americans struggle under the weight of high gas prices, these executives could not even be bothered to come to Washington to testify before the American people and their representatives in person.
Republicans falsely claim that President Biden is responsible for the recent rise in energy prices. But the facts show that Biden and his Administration are actually working hard to increase the supply of oil to lower costs for the American people. According to the nonpartisan Energy Information Administration, domestic oil production has actually increased by nearly 2 million barrels per day since President Biden took office. And last week, the President committed to release more than 180 million barrels of oil from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve to further alleviate pain at the pump. These measures will help hardworking Americans through this immediate crisis, but we must also take more forward-looking action as we confront rising gas prices.
The challenge we are facing with oil prices is not new. This situation has echoes of the 1973 oil crisis, when American consumers found themselves in a similar dilemma. While there was a push in the 1970s to build out new clean energy infrastructure, we did not take the action needed then to propel us toward a cleaner, more independent future. We must not make the same mistake again. No matter how much we drill, our nation can never be truly energy independent as long as we are beholden to the oil industry and its profit-seeking motives. Now more than ever, it is critical that we achieve lasting American energy independence that reduces the demand for oil and bolsters our growing clean energy economy.
As your representative in Congress, I am committed to fighting for that clean energy future. I’m working hard every day to provide cleaner, more reliable, and more affordable sources of energy for hardworking Americans. And I will not rest until Congress takes bold, significant action to address the pain that millions of Americans are feeling at the pump.
As always, thank you for reading.
Your friend,
DID YOU KNOW?
My office and I are working to make sure you remain informed with the latest updates and recommendations from federal agencies. With that in mind, here is some information that may be of interest to you:
- I am pleased to announce that our office’s Community Project Funding request process for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 is now open.
- Community Project Funding opportunities are requests that can result in federal funding for a single organization or project.
- Community Project Funding is only available to local and state governments and eligible non-profit organizations.
- Non-profit entities as described under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 are the only non-profits that are eligible. For-profit entities are not eligible to apply.
- This year, I was proud to secure nearly $15 million in funding for ten diverse projects in our district, ranging from clean energy initiatives and broadband internet expansion to water infrastructure upgrades and public health projects, as part of the Fiscal Year 2022 Community Project Funding process.
- Want to see your project funded next? For more information on eligibility and the application process or to submit a proposal, please visit my website: https://tonko.house.gov/constituent-services/community-project-funding.htm
- The deadline for submission of all completed applications is Friday, April 15th at 6:00 PM.
- Please do not hesitate to contact my office at (518) 465-0700 with any questions.