Sen. Cruz Leads Bipartisan, Bicameral Amicus Brief Defending Texas Energy

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to rehear or rehear en banc City of Port Isabel v. FERC. Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), John Kennedy (R-La.), and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) joined Sen. Cruz's brief. Congressman Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas-02) co-led the amicus brief in the House of Representatives and was joined by Representatives Steve Scalise (R-La.-01), Brian Babin (R-Texas-36), Michael C. Burgess (R-Texas-26), Henry Cuellar (D-Texas-28), Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas-34), Wesley Hunt (R-Texas-38), August Pfluger (R-Texas-11), and Randy K. Weber (R-Texas-14).

Sen. Cruz stated, "I'm proud to lead this bipartisan, bicameral effort. My number one priority in the U.S. Senate is jobs. There are 7,000 jobs and billions in investment in the Rio Grande Valley at stake. This decision and the current environmental process threaten the economic and energy security of Texas and America, and would cede America's energy dominance to adversaries and rivals such as Russia, which advance their own interests through gas exports. The D.C. Circuit should rehear and reverse this erroneous decision."

Rep. Crenshaw said,"Texas has the resources to supply the world with clean, affordable LNG. Unprecedented decisions that inject massive uncertainty into future investments aren't just short-sighted-they're morally indefensible. We cannot afford to hand the global energy market to adversaries like Russia, who produce dirtier, high-emission fuels."

BACKGROUND:

In August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated reauthorizations for the Rio Grande LNG and Texas LNG projects, threatening 7,000 jobs and undermining $24 billion in investments in the Rio Grande Valley. Sen. Cruz is leading this amicus brief to overturn that disastrous decision and defend high-paying Texas jobs and investments in the Rio Grande Valley.

In addition to his amicus brief, Sen. Cruz sent a letter urging the Biden-Harris administration to appeal the decision. Additionally, he was joined by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in introducing the Protect LNG Act to ensure that a court cannot vacate a previously authorized LNG permit, clarify the venue for LNG lawsuits before federal courts, and mandate that courts grant expedited decisions in these cases.

Sen. Cruz's amicus brief is available here and here.

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