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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), a Senate Banking Committee member, joined Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business this morning to preview today’s Senate Banking Committee hearing with CEOs from large banks. The senator also discussed President Biden’s agenda and his actions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
On the Banking Hearing with Big Bank CEOs:
“What I hope to do is make sure they know, as CEOs, that the only noise in their ear cannot be the left screaming ‘climate change, climate change, climate change’ and just acquiesce to that. I am going to be one of those voices in their ear saying ‘Wait a minute, the best way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is to invest vigorously in the American energy sector, including the fossil energy sector because the demand is not changing.’ I’d certainly rather develop fossil energy in the United States than acquiesce it to Venezuela, Russia, Africa, or Iran. The Iranian negotiations going on are actually negotiating lifting the oil sanctions on Iranian oil, while supporting the Nord Stream 2 Russian pipeline, all the while shutting down America's infrastructure. It makes no sense. We just want to make sure the banking community realizes these are legally, constitutionally-protected industries and you can't categorically excluded them because the left is making a lot of noise.”
On Nord Stream 2:
“Let's not forget that just a couple weeks before announcing his green lighting of Nord Stream 2, bad Russian actors shut down an American pipeline. It makes zero sense. It is chaos. It is bad our economy, bad for national security, bad for the environment, but other than that it’s a swell idea… You have at least eight European countries who oppose Nord Stream 2 because eastern European countries understand the problem of being associated with Vladimir Putin.”
“[Democrats] are able to do now they are able to do now with complete power in all three branches – the two congressional chambers and the presidency – what they probably always wanted to do, and that is escalate the idea of socialism and the redistribution of wealth. But I still don't understand how Nord Stream 2, why playing footsie with the Iranians at the same time as you’re shutting down your own energy sector benefits even a socialist dream. To be honest, I really wish I knew what was going on inside Joe Biden's head, but I just don't.”
On President Biden’s Agenda:
“Everything I hear about Joe Biden from people who know him very well is that he is a detail maker, but not a moderate. He is a liberal who right now has all the levers of power to exercise that liberalism as ultimately as he wants to.”
