NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Earlier this month, Representative Tracey Mann (KS-01), alongside U.S. Representatives Jodey Arrington (TX-19) and August Pfluger (TX-11), led their colleagues in introducing a Congressional Review Act (CRA) joint resolution of disapproval to nullify the Biden Administration’s final rule on oil and natural gas methane emissions regulations.
"The administration continues this war on fossil fuels and biofuels, as well," Mann said. "Really, all things liquid fuels. They do that a lot of different ways. The most recent effort now is the EPA, with yet another regulation that would force monitoring of certain methane gas emissions from certain plants, certain oil and gas producers. The end of the day though, they are doing this in an effort to try to shut them down."
There is also currently a pause on approvals of new liquified natural gas (LNG) export projects. Mann doesn't think that's a good idea, either.
"In our country and in our state, we can produce a lot of natural gas," Mann said. "We have tremendous reserves. We ought to be using those, exporting those, benefitting from that, instead of the administration stepping in."
In a period where Russia and Iran are still selling oil to China, despite U.S. sanctions, these moves appear to be allowing those powers to fill in a market where the U.S. could conceivably be competitive, especially with Brent Crude above $89 a barrel as of Saturday.
"Don't forget, the administration chose last year to unfreeze around $6 billion of Iranian assets," Mann said. "You look up and a few months later we have this horrible attack from Hamas on Israel on October 7 of last year. Then, we have things like what we've witnessed here this year, with Iran directly attacking Israel. We need to make it really tough on the Iranians. Part of that is having a robust oil supply and oil production here in our country."
China has imported up to 1.5 billion barrels of oil from Iran as of February 2024.
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