Dem Rep. Casten: U.S. Is a Net Oil Exporter ‘For Better or For Worse,’ OPEC Cut Production Because They Fear Green Push in U.S.

On Saturday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Velshi,” Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) said he has a difficult time “not seeing what OPEC has done as a direct response to what we have done in this Congress to give people access to cleaner and cheaper energy because nothing scares the oil company like a bunch of people with solar panels and electric vehicles.” And said that America, “for better or for worse, has become a net exporter of oil.”

Casten said the Saudis depend on American military assistance, and “the U.S., for better or for worse, has become a net exporter of oil. We don’t set the market price. The swing low-cost producer, Saudi [Arabia] does that. And so, this has also been a huge boon, by the way — the spiking in oil price is really good for U.S. oil producers. But, last time I checked, there were more oil consumers in the U.S. than producers. And so, we have the ability to be self-sufficient. We would have an even greater ability to be self-sufficient if we really doubled down on energy efficiency and conservation and renewables. And so, we have a long-term strategy that we can use. And frankly, I have a hard time not seeing what OPEC has done as a direct response to what we have done in this Congress to give people access to cleaner and cheaper energy because nothing scares the oil company like a bunch of people with solar panels and electric vehicles.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett