The federal government has reversed its initial decision but continues to steer away from energy independence.
March 9, 2022
(Washington, DC) – Yesterday, the Biden Administration announced it would be reversing course and would move to stop imports of Russian oil into the United States market. The Functional Government Initiative announced last week it had begun an investigation into the initial decision to exclude the Russian energy sector from U.S. sanctions. In spite of yesterday’s reversal, FGI’s probe is expected to yield vital information, allowing the American people to better understand the federal government’s energy priorities.
While FGI commends this decision, the American people have legitimate concerns about the impact of energy policy on rising prices, not only on energy but also across the economy. Concerns don’t end there. News about the decision to move away from Russian imports came alongside developments that may simply result in Americans’ depreciating dollar being redirected to another set of hostile foreign governments. American officials have reportedly begun talks with the Venezuelan government that may lead to easing of economic sanctions. These sanctions were originally placed on Venezuela in 2019 after numerous human rights abuses committed by the government under Nicolas Maduro, a close Putin ally. Talks also continue with Iran, the world’s prime state sponsor of terrorism, which may ease sanctions on the Iranian oil sector.
Energy prices have broad and deep effects on virtually every sector of the economy. As fuel prices continue to rise and widespread inflation continues to afflict American families, FGI will continue investigating how energy policy affects our influence abroad and Americans’ pocketbooks at home.
Peter McGinnis, spokesman for FGI, issued the following statement:
“Last week we expressed our concerns regarding the reluctance to sanction the Russian energy market and announced that we would be seeking information surrounding that decision. However, the current situation creates the fear that we may be moving from funding Russia’s war machine to paying the dictator in Venezuela and the state sponsors of terrorism in Iran. The concerns of the Functional Government Initiative remain. We will continue working to expose the dysfunction of government and investigate the impact of today’s energy policy on our foreign policy and near-record levels of inflation.”
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