Rep. Calvert: Californians are getting hammered at the pump thanks to Democratic policies

Today, Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-42) issued the following statement regarding banning Russian energy imports and rising gas prices:

"With Russia's unprovoked invasion and deadly campaign against Ukrainians the United States must stop all energy imports that are financing Putin's war machine. That's why last week I cosponsored the Prohibition on Imports of Russian Oil Act. The bill would have immediately ceased all U.S. imports of Russian oil and other petroleum-based energy products. I'm pleased to see that, earlier today, President Biden finally announced a ban on Russian oil and gas imports but am disappointed it required immense bipartisan pressure from Congress before he took this action.

Americans today are paying record-high prices at the gas pump as the cost of oil has jumped in response to the war in Ukraine. However, we should not forget that gas prices were climbing in America long before Russia invaded Ukraine under President Biden's war on American energy. And in California, Democrats have raised gas taxes so many times our state now has the highest cost of gas in the country. Californians are now paying 72 cents more per gallon on average than consumers in Hawaii! There's no question Californians are getting hammered at the pump because of the anti-American energy policies of Democrats.

In some of his first actions as President, Biden signed executive orders and adopted policies that made it harder to produce energy here in America. Now, instead of unleashing domestic production, the Biden administration is begging corrupt and violent regimes in Iran and Venezuela for help. The tragedy unfolding in Ukraine should serve as a stark reminder about the dangers of relying on and providing funding to dangerous dictators.

We need to reverse the Biden Administration energy policies now and work towards American energy independence. No nation produces energy in a cleaner, more environmentally responsible manner than the United States. Let's invest in American jobs that produce American energy to lower prices for American families and businesses and secure America's future."