A bill recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives that looks to strip control over liquified natural gas export licensing from the Department of Energy could impact a potential U.S. Senate race in Texas.
The bill, authored by Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX), would reverse President Joe Biden’s efforts to curtail the production and export of liquified natural gas (LNG). Among the members of the House to vote against the bill was Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX), who is looking to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) this election cycle.
According to polling reported on by The Texan, Cruz and Allred are in a near-dead heat.
By siding with Biden and his anti-fossil fuel policy, Allred is positioning himself directly against policies Cruz supports, which are backed by a majority of Texas voters. In November 2023, Texas voters approved a constitutional amendment to create a $10 billion energy fund to build new gas-fired power plants.
Biden paused the licensing of LNG exports as part of his climate change strategy. According to the Texas Oil and Gas Association, Texas is the third-largest LNG producer in the world and accounts for more than half of the LNG production in the United States. About 16% of production is exported to foreign countries.
In January, Biden announced a pause on approving the licensing of new and pending export applications. The pause only applies to exports to non-free trade agreement countries, which includes all of Europe. The United States holds free trade agreements with Israel, Jordan, Oman, and 17 other countries, primarily in Central and South America.
“As Republicans in Congress continue to deny the very existence of climate change while attempting to strip their constituents of the economic, environmental, and health benefits of the President’s historic climate investments, the Biden-Harris Administration will continue to lead the way in ambitious climate action while ensuring the American economy remains the envy of the world,” a White House statement on the pause reads.
Some Texas officials believe the LNG pause by the Biden administration is a response to Texas’ refusal to back down on border security.
“This reckless move is nothing more than retaliation against Texas — for standing up to this administration over the border crisis,” Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham posted on X.
J. Michael Waller, a senior analyst for strategy with the Center for Security Policy, echoed a similar belief in a post on X.
“The central government is waging economic warfare on Texas on top of the border invasion,” Waller wrote, posting an article from The Economist that links the LNG pause to Texas’ dispute with the Biden administration over border security.
Allred’s stance against the LNG bill could help Cruz by providing an opportunity to show voters that Allred does not support policies popular in the state. Cruz has spoken critically of the climate change initiatives pushed by the Biden administration.
“The Biden administration has always been controlled by the fringes of the Democrat Party, including radical climate activists, and that control is only deepening as the 2024 election approaches,” Cruz said following the announcement of the LNG export pause. “This move is environmentally damaging because U.S. liquefied natural gas displaces dirtier foreign options, and is geopolitically reckless because it is guaranteed to undermine European energy security and increase dependence on Russia.”
