Marco Rubio Leads GOP Bill to Ban Oil and Gas Imports from Iran, Venezuela

Republicans in the U.S. Senate have introduced a bill to ban oil and gas imports from the dictatorships in Iran and Venezuela.

Joe Biden and his administration reportedly reached out to these countries after prohibiting the importation of fossil fuels from Russia after it invaded Ukraine.

The Preempting Misguided Appeasement and Financing of Destabilizing Regimes Act also advances expanding domestic production of oil and gas.

“The United States is blessed to have a plentiful supply of oil and natural gas — we should be using it,” said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-TX) in an announcement of the legislation that he spearheaded. “American-produced energy is cleaner and provides good jobs for American workers, yet the Biden Administration would rather appease dictatorships in Iran and Venezuela in return for bad deals and false promises.”

“Under no circumstance should we be funneling money into the hands of dictators and narco-terrorists who are also allies of Vladimir Putin,” Rubio said. “Enough is enough — it’s time to bring energy production back home. ”

Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Steve Daines (R-MT), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Thom Tillis (R-NC), John Hoeven (R-ND), Rick Scott (R-FL), and James Lankford (R-OK) co-sponsored the bill.

“We should not be reliant on brutal dictators to provide for our country’s energy needs,” Sullivan said. “It’s national security suicide. It is insulting to working families that the Biden administration would rather enrich the despots in Iran and Venezuela than incentivize hard-working Americans to produce more energy. The President needs to quit begging these dictators for more oil and gas, and instead expand energy production here in America.”

“Banning Russian oil imports is important, but it’s not enough,” Daines said. “We need to increase American energy development and support our allies, not run to foreign dictators in Venezuela and adversaries like Iran.”

“It’s hard to believe that we would trade one despot in Russia for two despots in Venezuela and Iran,” Cramer said. “We can produce more energy here with the gold standard of labor and environmental protections. Our bill would stop this by banning the import of oil and natural gas from Iran and Venezuela.”

“Under the previous Administration our nation was energy independent, but President Biden reversed course and turned hostile nations like Russia into America’s gas station,” Marshall said.

“Now that President Biden has finally come around to halting Russian oil imports, you would think his natural next step would be to unleash our domestic energy supply and follow through on his pledge to buy American. Instead, the president is now reportedly looking to do business with terrorists and dictators in Iran and Venezuela to fill the void. This is simply unacceptable and will fail to provide short-term or long-term American energy security.”

“I support the Biden administration’s decision to ban Russian oil imports so we don’t inadvertently help fund Putin’s illegal invasion, but it cannot be an empty gesture to ban oil from one ruthless dictatorship and in turn replace it with oil from another ruthless dictatorship,” Tillis said. “Instead of turning to countries like Iran and Venezuela, the Biden administration must reverse their failed energy policies and immediately expand production here in America.”

“Iran is the world’s foremost sponsor of terrorism, and Venezuela is still under the rule of an illegitimate and violent regime,” Hoeven said. “As such, the U.S. needs to maintain pressure on these two nations, not ease sanctions on their primary source of revenue, especially when we can and should produce that energy here at home.”

“It is about time we strengthen our oil and natural gas sanctions against genocidal regimes like Iran and Venezuela, and I applaud the previous administration for leading the charge in this fight. It’s a no-brainer,” Scott said. “The current administration is turning to genocidal regimes, like Maduro in Venezuela and Iran, in an attempt to bring in more oil, when Biden should put America first and build up our own energy independence.”

“Cutting off purchasing oil and gas from Russia is the right direction, but buying oil or gas from Iran and Venezuela is wrong,” Lankford said. “President Biden said we should promote made in America, but obviously he meant everything but U.S. oil and gas production.”

“Biden’s latest deflection from reality is to shift our energy focus from Russia over to Iran, the largest state-sponsor of terrorism, and Maduro in Venezuela who hates the U.S. and murders his own people,” Lankford said. “Gas prices are high because of Biden’s anti-energy policies, not just Russian aggression.”

Iran’s “death to America” mantra comes to mind and Madura’s outspoken support for Russia, as Breitbart News reported:

“The extremist right that has taken over the governments of Ukraine has never been interested in resolving conflicts via dialogue, has never been interested in peace, has never been interested in respecting Russia,” Maduro claimed during a broadcast in late February immediately after the Russian assault on Kyiv began. “That’s why Venezuela announces its complete backing to President Vladimir Putin in the defense of peace of Russia in the defense of peace in that region, in the valiant peace of his people and his fatherland.”

“All the support for President Putin, all the support for Russia,” Maduro emphasized.

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