In fact, Russian imports accounted for 8.2 percent of all U.S. oil imports from June 2021 until November 2021.
At a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer got his facts wrong while dismissing West Virginia Democratic senator Joe Manchin’s call for the United States to ramp up domestic oil production.
“What do you make of Senator Manchin’s proposal to have more domestic oil production?” a reporter asked Schumer. “And is that not running afoul of many Democrats concerned about the environment?”
“The U.S. is a major oil producer; we only get 1 percent of any imports from Russia,” Schumer replied. “The bottom line is this: The real problem with increased gas prices is gouging and monopolies. Democrats are focused on those two issues.”
In fact, Russian imports accounted for 8.2 percent of all U.S. oil imports from June 2021 until November 2021.
“About 8% of U.S. imports of oil and refined products, or about 672,000 barrels a day, came from Russia last year, said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates LLC in Houston, citing figures from the Energy Information Administration,” the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. All countries in the Persian Gulf accounted for 9 percent of U.S. oil imports during that same time.
Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that “West Virginia’s Joe Manchin is leading a push to expand domestic drilling to boost exports to NATO allies.”
“We’re buying 650,000 barrels a day from Russia. It’s ridiculous. Totally ridiculous,” Manchin said on Monday.