Ted Poe: “Nord Stream II is energy blackmail. If completed, it will make our European allies more dependent on Russian gas to meet…”

“Nord Stream II is energy blackmail. If completed, it will make our European allies more dependent on Russian gas to meet their energy needs. For three decades, Russia has used its abundant energy supplies to coerce European neighbors into doing its bidding. Europe, lacking natural gas reserves of its own, once had little choice in energy providers, allowing the Kremlin to block the flow of gas if Europe was opposing its interests. In fact, I was in Ukraine in 2009 when the Russians turned off the gas in Ukraine, and it was cold. People died. It is blackmail since they are a monopoly on European natural gas. This includes forcing Europe's silence over Russia's illegal aggression in not only Ukraine, but Georgia and Crimea as well. Today, Europe has other options, however. American natural gas is increasingly available on the global market thanks to the advances in technology. In 2019, the United States' LNG exports are expected to surge by almost 80 percent. In Texas, Mr. Speaker, we have more natural gas than we ever had and more than we need. We should use all we can, and then we should sell the rest to the Europeans. Across Europe, more LNG terminals are coming online and allowing more American natural gas to reach the European market. Even Germany has pledged to build a new LNG terminal as a result of President Trump's push to renew the transatlantic trade relationship. With the expanding availability of U.S.…”