Reps. Mace, Khanna Introduce Bill to Ban Russian Oil Imports

“Vladimir Putin is funding his invasion of Ukraine through the oil and gas we import from Russia,” said Rep. Mace. “Every barrel we import is stained with Ukrainian blood. I don’t know a single person who wants to fill their car with Russian gas and they don’t have to. Far more consequential than throwing away Russian vodka, let’s throw away our dependence on Russia’s oil. We are importing approximately 600,000 barrels of oil from Russia per day; Russia’s President Vladimir Putin uses the money he gains from oil and gas exports to fund his illegal invasion of Ukraine. We should harness the incredible industry and innovation we have here in America to create sustainable and renewable energy sources and exert our energy independence.”

“Almost a decade ago, Senator John McCain urged us to reassess our relationship with Russia, calling it ‘a gas station masquerading as a country,'” said Rep. Khanna. “There is still time to heed his warning. America should not be dependent on Russian oil and gas. Instead, we must ban all imports of Russian crude oil and petroleum products and invest massively in renewable energy here at home.”

In addition to banning Russian oil and natural gas imports, the SPIGOT Act would support the Biden Administration in uncovering the relationship between Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian oil oligarchs, and human rights abuses. In 2021, the Russian Federation became the second-largest exporter of crude oil to the United States. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the United States imported approximately 245,000,000 barrels of crude oil and petroleum products from the Russian Federation in 2021, which would equal an estimated $17.4 billion in revenue to Russia. According to the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, 36 percent of all revenue of the government of the Russian Federation came from the oil and gas sector in 2021.