Rep. Saylor urges governors of New York, New Jersey to end policies banning new natural gas pipelines

Pennsylvania Rep. Stan Saylor (R-York) announced Monday that he will introduce a resolution urging New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy to end policies banning the construction of new natural gas pipelines.

Saylor’s office said that current policies in those states banning new natural gas pipelines have prevented Pennsylvania natural gas from reaching markets in New England, forcing those states to rely on Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) imports from foreign nations, including Russia.

“Not only have anti-energy policies from President Joe Biden down to blue-state governors resulted in increased costs to consumers, but they mean that we as a country are helping to finance Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked war on Ukraine through oil and natural gas imports,” Saylor said. “Pennsylvania is the second-largest natural gas producing state in the nation and stands ready to meet the demands of consumers in New England and elsewhere. There is no justifiable reason to have Russian LNG imports in our country.”

Saylor also called on Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf to call out other Democratic governors and urge them to reverse their pipeline bans, as well.

“Our response, as a Commonwealth and as a nation, to Russia’s aggressions towards a sovereign country must go beyond lighting up buildings in blue and gold and pulling Russian vodka from liquor store shelves,” Saylor said.