Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, issued this statement in response to the Biden Administration’s announcement today that it will ban Russian energy imports:

“The U.S. has been purchasing tens of millions of dollars’ worth of Russian oil daily. Following a bipartisan effort I joined, that ends now. Cutting off this key source of revenue, as Ukrainian President Zelensky requested, will put more pressure on Putin,” said Senator Collins, in a news release.  “We must continue working with European allies to reduce dependence on Russian energy. Rather than turning to authoritarians in the Middle East and South America, we should immediately boost U.S. energy production to lower the soaring price of gas and heating oil.”

Last week, Senator Collins joined a bipartisan group in introducing the Ban Russian Energy Imports Act, which would prohibit the importation of Russian crude oil, petroleum, petroleum products, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal.  Also last week, Senator Collins joined a group in calling on President Biden to take action to increase U.S. energy independence and help lower the prices Americans are paying to fill their gas and heating oil tanks. 

On Saturday, Senator Collins participated in a bipartisan, bicameral Zoom with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who urged U.S. lawmakers to ban Russian oil.

 U.S. Senator Angus King, I-Maine, has also applauded President Joe Biden’s announcement that the U.S. will cease the import of Russian energy products including oil and gas to further strain the economic pressures on Vladimir Putin in response to his unprovoked attack against Ukraine.

“The United States must use every tool at our disposal to ensure Putin and his cronies feel the full economic consequences of their deadly invasion of a sovereign democratic neighbor. Banning Russian energy is an important, effective step to ratchet up economic pressure, and I’m glad President Biden has made the decision to end these imports,” said Senator King, in a news release. “Over the last week, I’ve heard from many Maine people who’ve called for an end to Russian energy imports, want to see more pressure on Vladimir Putin, and are willing to pay a bit more at the pump to help Ukraine fight for their freedom. While this decision will increase gas prices temporarily, it is a small price to pay compared to the sacrifices we are watching the Ukrainian people make every day. This move is unquestionably the right thing to do – as long as Russia continues its brutal campaign against the Ukrainian people, the U.S. will take our business elsewhere.”

As a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources, Armed Services, and Intelligence Committees Senator King condemned the heinous attacks on Ukraine’s sovereignty, and worked to make sure Putin feels the economic price of his actions, the release said.

 King introduced bipartisan legislation by freezing Russia’s ability to sell its gold reserves to finance its war effort. 

He has also recently introduced legislation that would prohibit the importation of Russian energy products, and sought a government study to evaluate how Russia’s energy influence can be countered globally.

As the crisis in Ukraine has escalated, Senator King shared concerns that Putin may consider “greater force in Ukraine” and condemned the attacks on Ukrainian sovereignty while calling for a united, international effort to push back on Putin.