Governor Stitt Speaks Out On Letter Sent To Biden Addressing National Energy Independence

Governor Kevin Stitt is speaking out about the letter he sent to President Joe Biden asking him to stop importing Russian crude oil and natural gas. A nationwide desire to cut back on Russian oil begs the question, who should fill that gap in demand?

Governor Stitt said the answer is Oklahoma. He said Oklahoma is an energy powerhouse - ready to meet an increased demand in oil and gas. However, he said he isn't getting much support from the federal government.

"We're buying oil from people that don't even like us. We're fueling this economy over there that's now attacking a sovereign nation in Ukraine. And I simply am asking the president, 'Hey, let's stop this nonsense.' It doesn't make common sense for people in Oklahoma. We have workers and we have assets here in our state to fuel America," Stitt said.

Stitt's letter to President Joe Biden addressed concerns Stitt has with the administration's energy policies. He said the policies are too restrictive on American producers.

He mentioned the Keystone pipeline, which he said could be part of the energy independence solution.

“The keystone pipeline - this has become so political,” he said. “They could deliver all of that oil right through Cushing, Oklahoma to refineries here in the United States, and instead we’re buying that equivalent from Russia.”

Stitt hopes the president sees that a push towards energy independence doesn't have to go against green-energy initiatives.

"So we could have an honest conversation about developing more renewables and Oklahoma, by the way, is leading the way. We’re one of only four states that 40-percent of our energy generation comes from renewables, so we’re an 'all of the above' approach. But it makes no sense, the demand is there. Why we wouldn’t develop that in states like Oklahoma," he said.

Stitt hoped to hear more about energy independence in Biden's State of the Union Address.