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When President Joe Biden took office, he immediately took steps to reduce American use of fossil fuels by making them expensive and difficult to produce. He canceled the Keystone XL pipeline, imposed taxes on natural gas, restricted oil and gas lease sale on federal lands, and limited fracking. Prices for gasoline and other fuels skyrocketed, which raised the costs of food and other goods for American consumers. In addition, America’s energy independence is threatened by the "green energy" policies aggressively pursued by this administration.

Republicans in the House of Representatives are taking action on this issue. Today they voted on HR 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act, their top priority bill. (See here and here for fact sheets on the bill’s provisions.) The bill will increase domestic energy production, reform the permitting processes for energy industries, streamline energy infrastructure and exports, and boost the production and processing of critical minerals.

The RJC supports HR 1 and stated:

Jewish Americans strongly support making our country energy independent, but Biden administration policies are moving us in the wrong direction. We’re grateful that @HouseGOP have made legislation that responsibly increases energy production and lowers costs a top priority.

The Hill reports:

The legislation, titled the Lower Energy Costs Act, passed in a 225-204 vote. Four Democrats — including Reps. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) and Jared Golden (D-ME) — voted in favor of the bill. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) was the only Republican to vote against it.

…While the bill, at least in its entirety, is not expected to advance further, it serves as a starting point for Republicans as they seek to negotiate with Democrats on finding a way to speed up the approval process for energy projects — an effort known as permitting reform.

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the citizens of Israel that he would postpone a vote on his coalition’s judicial reform package, after the country was engulfed by street demonstrations, strikes, and even threats from some IDF reservists that they would refuse to report for duty in protest of the reforms.

That didn’t stop President Joe Biden from continuing his administration’s pressure on Netanyahu to halt the reforms. On Tuesday, Biden told reporters that he was "very concerned" about Israeli democracy and warned that Israel “cannot continue down this road.”

Republican presidential "hopefuls" Ambassador Nikki Haley and Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) slammed Biden for his comments and for interfering in Israeli domestic policy:

"It’s outrageous for Joe Biden to lecture Israel on a matter that is entirely their domestic concern," Haley tweeted. "We would never want the Israeli government to push America on issues surrounding our Supreme Court, and they wouldn’t do it. We should let Israelis decide this themselves."

… "If during these already dangerous days Israel is attacked by Hezbollah, Hamas or Iran it will be because Joe Biden decided to involve himself in Israeli politics," Rubio tweeted.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said in a statement today:

"Free societies have vigorous and open debate. Israel is no exception. I support Prime Minister Netanyahu, and America’s support for Israel’s strong, vibrant democracy is unwavering. Now is an important time for Americans to stand together in support of our long, mutually respectful, and important friendship with Israel."

The editors of the Wall Street Journal decried Biden’s "meddling" in Israel’s affairs. They wrote:

Mr. Biden’s intervention makes us wonder if his real goal is to stir more trouble for Mr. Netanyahu so his coalition falls. He may worry that the Prime Minister is increasingly focused on Iran’s progress toward becoming a nuclear power. And Iran is getting closer as it enriches uranium to ever higher levels, refuses to allow UN inspectors to look at suspect sites, and ignores international warnings.

…Mr. Biden has already alienated our friends the Saudis, who are busy hedging their American bets by getting closer to the Chinese. The President also isn’t helping Israel, or US security interests, by further roiling the domestic politics of America’s best remaining friend in the Middle East.

Rashida Tlaib peddles Palestinian propaganda video to attack Israel

Antisemitic congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) on Sunday retweeted a video that falsely purports to show Israeli troops attacking Palestinians, with Tlaib saying the video shows "the violent apartheid government of Israel."

"Peace through strength" requires robust deterrence

Cliff May, founder and president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, fears that the Biden administration’s weak foreign policy is reducing American deterrence and making us look like an easy target to Iran, Russia, and China. He writes: "[R]ebuilding America’s military and economic strength to deter our enemies should be Washington’s top priority."

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