Following the contentious oval office meeting between President Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelenskyy on Friday, Governor Josh Shapiro quickly jumped into the fray, issuing a statement blaming the President and Vice President for the dispute while offering his own “tough talk” against Russia.
In this hasty yet hollow response, Shapiro once again proves he is quick to speak but absent when it is time to take real action. If Shapiro truly cared about the safety and security of America and standing with our European allies, he would act now by supporting the development of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility in Southeast Pennsylvania. It could easily be done and there are private investors at the ready, but there is one obstacle: Pennsylvania State Government.
The war in Ukraine made painfully clear the consequences of Europe’s dependency on Russian natural gas for its energy. Four years later, the European Union is still paying the price, while Russia continues funding its war efforts from its sizable energy exports. Oil and natural gas exports make up anywhere between 30-50% of Russia’s yearly federal budget revenues, making it their largest single revenue source by far.
If you want to defund the Kremlin’s war machine, it begins with replacing Russian energy with U.S. energy exports. With its strategic location and sizable natural gas reserves, Pennsylvania is uniquely positioned to support our European allies by meeting their LNG needs more efficiently. Exports from the Philadelphia region can reach Europe at least a week faster than those from Texas, Louisiana, and other Gulf Coast states, providing a critical advantage in energy security and supply stability. All while providing an economic boom to the Philadelphia region by supporting nearly 32,000 jobs, $2.7 billion in labor wages, and $4.3 billion in gross state product.
Turning an LNG export facility into reality requires more than just words from Governor Shapiro—it demands real action. That means genuine support for expediting state permitting processes to accelerate development, while also ensuring that industry-killing energy taxes never take root in Pennsylvania.
Right now, the Shapiro Administration is appealing a Commonwealth Court decision to keep in place an unconstitutional $800 million energy tax scheme, known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), while simultaneously pitching his own, new, energy tax proposal known as the PACER program.
Carbon taxes stifle economic growth and signal to industries and energy producers that they’re better off doing business elsewhere. Governor Shapiro has the power to withdraw the RGGI appeal, put an end to any new energy taxes in Pennsylvania, and make our Commonwealth a global energy leader.
Pennsylvania has lost other major projects to competitor states because it simply takes too long for shovels to touch dirt because of excessive regulations—all of which are enforced by the Governor’s office. Investors look to other locations because no matter how many times he says, “government should move at the speed of business,” it doesn’t.
Governor Shapiro says he wants to support the “safety and security of America and our national security interests.” Instead, he is the face of an unpredictable regulatory environment, overly burdensome state permitting processes, and the looming threat of $800 million in energy taxes—casting a dark cloud over Pennsylvania’s future and leaving our European allies out in the cold.
True leadership demands action, not empty rhetoric. Unless Governor Shapiro backs his words with decisive action, his statement, like so many before, remains nothing more than political showmanship—the worst kind of hypocrisy. Pennsylvania’s energy producers are ready to unleash the full potential of PA natural gas to support our European allies and make the world a safer place. If what he really wants is to “not cower to dangerous dictators like Vladimir Putin,” then build a needed LNG terminal in Southeast Pennsylvania, load up the ships on the Delaware River, and send them across the Atlantic. He could make it happen, if he actually wanted to.
About the authors:
Rep. Martina White – Martina White, a financial advisor and lifelong resident of Northeast Philadelphia, was first elected on March 24, 2015 in a special election to fill an open seat in the 170th District. She became the first new Republican elected in Philadelphia in 25 years.
David N. Taylor – David N. Taylor is President & CEO of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association, the statewide trade organization representing the manufacturing sector in Pennsylvania’s public policy process.