WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) released the following statements on President Trump’s news that Saudi Arabia has agreed to work with OPEC to stabilize the energy market by decreasing oil production. Both Senators have led the effort to get Saudi Arabia to cut production and both received calls from the Saudi Arabia Ambassador to the United States Reema bint Bandar Al Saud announcing the news.

“President Trump’s announcement is a positive step, and I urge him to keep pressing both Russia and Saudi Arabia. As I told the Saudi Ambassador today, this de-facto war on American energy needs to end now,” said Senator Cramer. “The Saudis have been an ally in the region, and I hope recent events underscore the importance of our partnership. The world needs to know we won’t be bullied and will always put America first.”

“While I appreciated the Saudi Ambassador’s call today indicating that the Kingdom will cut oil production and will call for an emergency meeting of OPEC next week to help stabilize global energy prices, this is a classic case of actions speaking louder than words,” said Senator Sullivan. “Significant damage has already been done by Saudi Arabia’s actions to date, which have negatively impacted tens of thousands of workers in Alaska and North Dakota, as well as other energy producing states.”

BACKGROUND

  • Last week, Senators Cramer and Sullivan, members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, introduced legislation to remove U.S. Armed Forces from Saudi Arabia. 
  • On March 25, Senator Cramer and Sullivan joined a letter with Senator Murkowski (R-Alaska) to Secretary of State Pompeo, urging U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to take an aggressive stance against the efforts of Saudi Arabia and Russia to destabilize America’s oil and gas industry – a key part of the domestic economy – amid a global pandemic.
  • On March 20, Senators Cramer and Sullivan joined a letter with Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross urging him to investigate excessive dumping of oil by Russia and Saudi Arabia.
  • On March 16, Senators Cramer and Sullivan led a group of senators in sending a letter to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud urging the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to halt its destabilizing actions as the rest of the world struggles with the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Sullivan and Cramer organized a call with a group of senators to discuss this with the Saudi Ambassador to the United States later in the same week.