In doing so, they praised the efforts of the New Jersey legislature already done to put economic pressure on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, the 10th constituency legislative delegation said today that any action taken without work towards energy independence would be futile.
“I wholeheartedly support it a recent sanctions bill approved by the Senate Budget Committee, ”said State Senator James Holzapfel (R-Toms River). “However, in the end, it will have little effect on Russia’s economy, because the United States will continue to import Russian oil every day and give them billions of dollars.”
Assembly member John Catalan (R-Brick) blamed the country’s lack of energy independence on President Joe Biden, who has made tackling climate change and switching to renewable energy a priority.
“Perhaps if the Biden administration has not stopped building many of the pipelines needed for America’s energy independence, New Jersey’s sanctions could be somewhat effective,” Catalan said. “Now is the perfect time to dramatically increase our oil and natural gas production here at home so we can impose sanctions that really have teeth.”
The legislature is currently working on two bills related to the invasion: a resolution that simply condemns Russia’s actions, and a more effective bill by Senator Paul Sarlo (D-Wood-Ridge), which bans government agencies from doing business with Russia. . The first passed the assembly on Monday, and the second has not yet come to a full vote in any of the chambers.
