U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Monday issued the following statement regarding President Joe Biden’s announcement that the United States is banning imports of Russian oil and other energy products.

 
“Today’s announcement is a needed step, but we must do more to help American consumers and strike a blow against Russia’s war machine.

“Before turning to brutal regimes like Iran or Venezuela to replace Russian oil, we should open the spigot on American energy. Through smart energy production, we can fulfill our domestic needs while simultaneously exporting oil and gas to our allies and decreasing their dependence on Russian energy.

“I urge the Administration to reverse its policies of the past fourteen months that have led to steadily increasing domestic energy prices and take sensible steps like reopening the Keystone pipeline and eliminating restrictions on U.S. oil and gas production. The price increases facing every American at the pump can be mitigated by accelerating production of our domestic energy resources.”