ICYMI: Sullivan Discusses Willow Project, and the CCP’s Greatest Weakness in Radio Interview
WASHINGTON—In an interview on The Hugh Hewitt Show Tuesday morning, U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) called out the Biden administration for delaying the Willow Project in Alaska, while authorizing oil development in Venezuela that is more than 18 times more polluting and will pad the pockets of an authoritarian, human-rights-violating, despotic regime. Senator Sullivan also explained why he led a letter co-signed by a bipartisan group of 41 senators warning the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime of the consequences of a violent crackdown on peaceful protestors.
The full interview can be found here.
HUGH HEWITT: “Is he [President Biden] actually obstructing oil and gas development in Alaska?”
SENATOR SULLIVAN: “110%. Hugh, it's 110%. Look, there are a lot of Biden policy disasters, but his energy policy is the biggest disaster of them all. From day one and I've seen this not just in America, but as expressly in Alaska, They have focused on shutting down or delaying production of American energy, shutting down or killing American energy infrastructure, going to American banks, and financial institutions, and, believe it or not, pressuring them not to invest in the American energy sector. And then you see what they do. They go bend the knee, literally, the President of the United States bent the knee in Saudi Arabia, embarrassing as hell for our country. And bent the knee to dictators to produce more oil. I mean, it is unbelievable. You saw what they just did with Venezuela. But in Alaska, you know, we got ANWR passed in the law - two lease sales mandated by the Congress. Day one, the president suspended those. You can't suspend those. That's in the law. The president's job is to faithfully execute the laws of our nation, not to block them.
“And then now we have this incredible project called The Willow Project. It has been in permitting, if you can believe this, you for almost 20 years. It's in the National Petroleum Reserve of Alaska. It is ready to go. If the Biden administration gives the green light on this, it will produce over 2,500 jobs and at peak production Willow will produce 190,000 barrels a day. And they're delaying it. They're green lighting Venezuela and they're delaying the Willow Project! Every one of your listeners should call these guys saying, let the Willow Project and American workers, and by the way, the Willow Project is the most environmentally responsible, sensitive, major oil and gas project on the planet Earth. Lowest greenhouse gas emissions of any major project in the world. Meanwhile, Venezuela 18 times more polluting than the average American energy project. This is the definition of policy insanity.”
SULLIVAN: President Biden Has Approved Fewer Oil and Gas Leases Than Any President Since WWII
HEWITT: “So, Senator, when you hear the president say we've given thousands of permits to the oil and gas industry isn't using. They should use those first. or you hear Kareen doing that at the White House, what should the follow-up question be to focus folks on the facts of their obstruction as opposed to their talking point deflection?”
SULLIVAN: “Let me give you three. First, Mr. President approve the Willow Project almost 200,000 barrels a day. You look, I pressed the President of the United States directly on this project 18 months ago. Directly. I even gave him a memo on it. He said he wasn't aware of it, which I believe he is not aware of a lot of things. And two days later, his White House called me, saying the president is going to support Willow. Okay. End of story. When I worked for George W. Bush, if the United States talked to U.S. senators and a congressman, he was going to do something, that was it. So number one, approve Willow. That's the biggest American energy project in the country right now, ready to go, been in permitting for almost 20 years.
“Secondly, this president has put out the lowest amount of leases since any president since World War II. That is a fact.
“And the third one they should be pressed on. Now, this is a little more technical, but it's in the energy sector. There are things, these aren't just the leases. There are these things once you get a lease, are called applications to drill. That's actually the real thing that needs to be approved. There are 8,000 applications to drill, including in Alaska, that this administration is sitting on. That's how you get production going.”
SULLIVAN: Xi Jinping’s Biggest Fear Is His Own People
HEWITT: “You signed a letter, I believe you authored it, and you got 41 co-signers to the Chinese ambassador warning them against the Tiananmen Square repeat. Did you get an answer, Senator?”
SULLIVAN: “Our letter was very simple. By the way, almost half the Senate, including a lot of Dems, signed on to my letter. And it essentially just said, we're watching very closely these historic protests. Last time you had a protest of this magnitude, you undertook a violent crackdown. 1989 Tiananmen Square that killed hundreds, if not thousands of peacefully protesting students. And we caution the Chinese Communist Party in the strongest possible terms not to kill your people again Simply because they want more freedom. You know, Hugh, this goes exactly to the biggest vulnerabilities Xi Jinping has. And it's this: These guys fear their own people. They fear their own people and we need to exploit that vulnerability every opportunity we can.”
SULLIVAN: World Leaders Need To Speak up and Show Support For Brave People Pushing for Freedom
HEWITT: “Do you think that [Iranian] regime is close to tumbling?”
SULLIVAN: “Not yet. Not yet. But it's the same issue, the terrorist regime in Iran. The biggest thing they fear is their own people. And it's the same thing we need to be doing with regard to China. When the protesters take to the streets, these brave Iranian women, I mean, you want to talk about courage. When they take to the streets, the United States needs to lift its voice in support of these kind of heroes in my view. That was the purpose of the letter we sent to the Chinese Communist Party. I thought that world leaders response to the protests in Beijing and throughout China, to the protests in Iran been much too tepid, including from Joe Biden. World leaders need to speak up and actually show support for these brave people who are are pushing for freedom. That was the point of our letter to the Chinese Communist Party, and we need to do it in Iran.”
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