'Don't Play That Game With Me': Senator Josh Hawley Snaps At Biden Official

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore/CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr

At today's Senate Energy Committee, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) pressed Dr. Andrew Light, Assistant Secretary at the Office of International Affairs at the Department of Energy, over Biden Administration energy policy.

 

In this exchange, Senator Josh Hawley questions Dr. Andrew Light, Assistant Secretary at the Office of International Affairs at the Department of Energy, about the Biden Administration's energy policy. 

Hawley expresses concern that the administration is prioritizing climate objectives over energy abundance and independence, and accuses them of making the United States more dependent on foreign sources of energy. Light responds by emphasizing the importance of energy diversification for energy security, but also notes that the United States is producing record amounts of oil and natural gas and encouraging U.S. oil producers to increase production. 

Hawley also questions Light about China's role in the global supply chain for critical minerals needed for clean energy and expresses concern that the Biden Administration's climate agenda is making the United States more dependent on China. Light acknowledges China's dominance in the supply chain for critical minerals but emphasizes that diversifying the supply chains and creating sound relationships with non-Chinese suppliers is a top priority of the administration.

VIRAL Statement of Senator Hawley: Don't play that game with me; we're talking here about energy production. Oil and natural gas are used in energy production. And the facts of the matter are that this president has reduced our ability to be energy independent. And you're sitting here telling me that that increases our energy security. It looks just the opposite to me; it seems to me that you're recommending the European Playbook, which left them dependent on foreign nations and ultimately independent on hostile actors, and that's what you're trying to replicate here again in the United States.

I just don't understand why this course of action is being recommended while your administration is pursuing it. I also don't understand why you would shut down pipelines that cancel thousands of good-paying American energy jobs; I mean, is that a healthy energy policy for this country?