The American energy economy needs to be unshackled, Republican U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Vance told the Mount Vernon News on Wednesday.
Vance will face Democrat Tim Ryan in Ohio’s Senate race in the General Election on Aug. 8.
“I think that the biggest and most important component of the inflation is the fact that energy has gotten more expensive,” Vance said. “This is gas at the gas pump. This is fertilizer, which is derived from natural gas. This is manufacturing, which really can't do that high-quality manufacturing without high-quality power, typically in the form of natural gas.”
More expensive energy means everything becomes more expensive, he said.
President Joe Biden promised to make energy more expensive to transition the United States to a green economy, Vance said. He’s fulfilled the promise to make it more costly.
“Of course, Tim Ryan, my Democratic opponent, has supported him 100% of the way,” he said.
The disastrous policies of the Biden administration need to be reversed, Vance said.
“We have to make it easier to grant more permits for the exploration of oil and gas leases. We have to grant more permits and some regulatory relief so that we can build refining capacity in our country,” he said. “We have to finish the Keystone pipeline so that we can transport natural gas from one part of our continent to the other.”
Vance called giving oil from the nation’s strategic oil reserve to China dangerous.
“Why when people are paying sky-high prices for energy are we sending our best to China?” he asked.
Vance wants the southern border closed and the border wall finished. Border Patrol agents should be allowed to do their jobs.
“One of the weirdest and most disgusting things that Tim Ryan and the Democrats have done is actively attack our border patrol law enforcement when they're doing a very dangerous job of enforcing our border and ensuring that illegal border crossings aren't allowed to come into the country,” he said.
Biden came into office welcoming illegal immigration. Vance said it’s also welcoming to fentanyl, sex trafficking and crime.
Candidates can appeal to the majority of Ohio, he said. He says he tries not to think about where he sits on the ideological spectrum and instead defined and sticks to his principles. Vance says the people want a sensible energy policy and not to pay more because of the green energy lobby. They want to secure the southern border and stop drugs and crime from pouring into the country.
