House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) on Wednesday called on President Barack Obama end what he described as a “de facto ban” on U.S. exports of natural gas, as a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“The House will work with the administration to support the Ukranian people and confront Russian aggression,” Boehner said on the floor.
He continued: “We can supplant Russia’s influence but we won’t so long as we have to contend with the Energy Department’s achingly slow approval process. As we speak, the administration is sitting on 24 applications for natural gas exports. It’s approved just six in the last three years. This amounts to a de facto ban that only emboldens Vladimir Putin, allowing him to sell large quantities of natural gas to our allies.”
