Today, Senator Rick Scott joined Senator Marco Rubio and their colleagues in reintroducing the Preempting Misguided Appeasement and Financing of Destabilizing Regimes Act to prohibit the importation of Venezuelan and Iranian crude oil, petroleum, petroleum products, and liquefied natural gas into the United States following reports from earlier this week that indicated that the Biden Administration had agreed to lift sectoral sanctions on the Maduro regime’s petroleum industry. 

Senator Rick Scott said, “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. 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. The U.S. cannot depend on one murderous dictator over another, we must depend on ourselves.”

Read more from Senator Rubio’s office below.

RUBIO, COLLEAGUES: BAN OIL AND NATURAL GAS IMPORTS FROM VENEZUELA AND IRAN

The U.S. sees neither Venezuela nor Iran as a viable democratic partner, and until drastic changes occur in those nations, there should be no capacity for our nation to support them. Any process that allows oil or natural gas resources to be imported from the hands of these criminal regimes needs to be immediately terminated. 

Earlier this week, media reports indicated that the Biden Administration had agreed to lift sectoral sanctions on the Maduro regime’s petroleum industry. 

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and colleagues reintroduced the Preempting Misguided Appeasement and Financing of Destabilizing Regimes Act to prohibit the importation of Venezuelan and Iranian crude oil, petroleum, petroleum products, and liquefied natural gas into the United States.

• “The United States is blessed to have a plentiful supply of oil and natural gas — we should be using it. American-produced energy is cleaner and provides good paying jobs for American workers, yet the Biden Administration would rather appease dictatorships in Iran and Venezuela in return for hostage swaps, bad deals, and false promises. Under no circumstance should we be funneling money into the hands of dictators and narco-terrorists who are aiding Vladimir Putin’s unjustified invasion of Ukraine. Enough is enough — it’s time to bring energy production back home. ” – Senator Rubio

Joining Senator Rubio are Senators Roger Marshall (R-KS), Steve Daines (R-MT), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), John Hoeven (R-ND), Rick Scott (R-FL), James Lankford (R-OK), and Thom Tillis (R-NC).

• “Throughout his presidency, Joe Biden has undermined American energy producers at every turn and instead turned to hostile foreign nations like Russia to provide these critical resources. The Biden Administration's war on American energy must end. “We need to increase our domestic energy supply and cut ties with foreign dictators and our adversaries like Iran and Venezuela. Unleashing American energy will help our economy, drive down inflation, and is in the best interest of our national security. This legislation is a no-brainer; the president's misguided energy policies hurt America, and we must change course.” – Senator Marshall

• “Energy security is national security, and President Biden’s war on American energy is dangerous. Instead of begging foreign adversaries like Venezuela and Iran to produce more oil, we should be focused on producing made-in-America energy.” – Senator Daines

• “The idea of importing oil from our adversaries is a complete slap in the face of working Americans. We should be using and supporting American energy, and any reliance on our adversaries for something as critical as energy is an obvious threat to our national security. It is long overdue to formalize a policy of removing our enemies from our critical supply chains.” – Senator Cramer

• “Since day one, the Biden administration has closed off access to our vast domestic oil and gas reserves and undermined our nation’s energy security. Now, instead of producing the energy we need here at home, the Biden administration is seeking to do business with our adversaries. Our legislation will block the import of oil and gas from Iran and Venezuela, and help the U.S. maintain pressure on these two nations. Instead of easing sanctions on Iran and Venezuela’s primary source of revenue, we can and should produce that energy here at home.” – Senator Hoeven

• “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. 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. The U.S. cannot depend on one murderous dictator over another, we must depend on ourselves.” – Senator Scott

• “The United States should not rely on the natural resources of authoritarian regimes when we have a surplus of untapped oil and natural gas here at home. It is disgraceful that the United States continues to support the economies of rogue states like Iran and Venezuela that are directly responsible for so much violence and suffering around the world today. We need to grow our economy by bringing energy production back home and stop doing business with bad actors who do not have our best interests at heart.” – Senator Tillis

Want more information?

• March 2022: Rubio Leads Colleagues in Introducing Bill to Ban Oil and Natural Gas Imports From Iran and Venezuela

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