Huffman Lauds Biden Admin’s Anticipated Decision to Pause Approvals of LNG Exports

Announcement follows Huffman’s repeated calls to stop exporting fossil fuels, update process to consider public interest, climate impacts

January 25, 2024

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (CA-02) released the following statement on the Biden administration’s anticipated announcement to pause approvals of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) exports and overhaul its public interest determination criteria and process.

“Thanks to President Biden and Democrats, we’ve made historic progress in transitioning to clean energy and getting off our planet killing addiction to fossil fuels. But we can’t talk out of both sides of our mouths here – that progress only works if we stop sending oil and gas overseas,” said Rep. Huffman. “Last fall, I led my colleagues in calling on the administration to take a serious look at their dirty energy export decisions and how it impacts climate, environmental justice, and domestic energy prices. We’re finally waking up and rejecting Big Oil’s lies to keep us hooked on their volatile dirty energy roller coaster. Pausing new export approvals is a huge deal that will keep our energy bills lower, our communities healthier, and our country safer. But let me be clear: this is not “mission accomplished”. In order to save an inhabitable planet for future generations, we need to work with our allies to completely transition off of fossil fuels for good.”

Last November, Rep. Huffman and U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), along with Representatives Nanette Barragán (D-CA-44) and Jennifer McClellan (D-VA-04) led over 60 of their colleagues in a bicameral letter to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) urging the agency to update how it determines if new licenses for liquified natural gas (LNG) exports to non-free, U.S. trade countries are in the public interest. In the letter, Huffman highlighted concerns that DOE’s current approach to making these determinations does not fully or accurately consider how these exports impact the climate, environmental justice, or domestic energy prices and called for change.

Congressman Huffman has been a leader in divesting from fossil fuel infrastructure and accelerating the transition to clean energy at home and abroad.

  • In 2022, Huffman joined Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Member of the European Parliament Marie Toussaint in a trans-Atlantic effort to transition to clean energy and prevent new LNG infrastructure.
  • Huffman and Merkley have also partnered on the Keep It in the Ground Act to stop new fossil fuel leases and put an end to nonproducing leases on public lands and waters and transition to a clean energy future, and the Sustainable International Financial Institutions Act of 2023, which would tackle the problem of international financial institutions helping to finance fossil fuel projects that are accelerating the climate crisis.
  • Rep. Huffman has called out industry players on their roles in fossil fuel expansion, including calling out 13 of the top U.S. insurers for continuing to invest in fossil fuel expansion projects despite the risks the projects pose to the country's economic stability and furthering the climate crisis. He has also publicly urged five of the largest U.S. banks not to provide financing for oil drilling and development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.