There is evidence that Russia has channeled money to American environmental groups fighting against the use of fossil fuels, much as it influenced similar groups in European countries to push to end energy production, Rep. Bill Johnson said on Newsmax Wednesday.
The Ohio Republican told Newsmax's "National Report" that allegations of Russian funding come in the wake of a report released by the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee in 2018, when the GOP-led committee found that Russia had funneled money to European environmental groups as far back as 2011, resulting in several countries outlawing hydraulic fracturing for natural gas and oil.
"They achieved devastating results to Europe's energy portfolio, and that's what you see playing out in Europe right now," Johnson said. "All the while, they were becoming more dependent on Russia's natural gas and energy resources to fuel their economy."
And, Johnson said if it's true that Russia is trying to influence energy policy through environmental activist groups, "that's real Russian interference."
Meanwhile, Europe has "painted themselves into a bad place, into a dark corner" by depending on Russian oil over domestic supplies.
"It's a cold winter in Europe, so they are in a very difficult situation," said Johnson. "But if President [Joe] Biden would unleash American natural gas, we could help with that. There are 20-some permits that are sitting between the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy to export liquid natural gas. All we've got to do is put America's energy back in play."
Under former President Donald Trump and at the height of the United States' energy independence, "we were a net exporter of oil and gas," said Johnson. "We were producing some 13 million barrels of oil per day. We can help solve Europe's problems, but we can't do it by keeping America's energy in the ground, and that's what the Biden administration seems to be focused on doing."
Biden, he added, has "made it very clear" that he's "going to destroy the oil industry" through his actions.
"They want more money toward green alternative energies than they do for the reliable grid sustaining fossil fuel energy sources like oil and gas," Johnson further commented.
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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