Tim Stewart, president of the U.S. Oil and Gas Association, says it wasn’t long ago that America had “global dominance” of the world’s energy economy. As he explained it in an interview with Rebecca Weber, CEO of the Association of Mature American Citizens, on her “Better For America” podcast, up until January 2021, when Joe Biden became president, “the United States was the producer to which OPEC and the other oil and gas producers in the world responded … now we’re walking around, shaking a tin cup [and asking] the Saudis to please give us a little bit more oil.”

America’s expertise on energy production has been undermined. The Biden administration has replaced professionals “who have oil and gas experience in their portfolios with think-tank activists. And that’s why you see this headlong rush into an unproven energy policy which will ultimately cost everybody a lot more money.” Stewart pointed out that the Biden administration wasted no time in canceling the Keystone XL pipeline and suspending leases. “And now they’re coming down into our personal lives and saying, you can do this and you can’t do that. And it’s a frightening direction in which we’re going right now,” he said.

Stewart went on to explain that the administration has triggered an invasive war that would outlaw fossil fuels such as natural gas. For example, San Francisco is bent on phasing out natural-gas furnaces starting in 2027. 

“We don’t have the infrastructure in place and it won’t be in place for a long, long time,” Stewart noted. He said that despite the fact that the powers that be seek to portray fossil fuel as the enemy, “the reality is natural gas is probably the best bridge fuel you’ll ever get if you want to completely decarbonize.”

Stewart pointed out that the “Ninth Circuit Court recently overturned Berkeley, California’s ban on gas-stove infrastructure. They said you can’t do that. You don’t have the authority to do that. Which is encouraging to me because, if you can win in Berkeley, in the Ninth Circuit, which is the most notoriously liberal court there is, we can win across the country.”

Another [progressive] state, New York State, has also recently passed a statewide ban on natural gas and Stewart suggested that his association will get involved there as well. In fact, he said his Oil and Gas Association has established what he called, a “Hands Off My Stove Initiative. It’s “an option for people who don’t work for our industry, but who want to figure out how to do something. We’re gathering people from all across the country to help local groups fight these local initiatives. We’ll team people up with them to keep the communists out of our kitchens,” he explained.

 “I have never in my 30 years seen a more concentrated regulatory and legislative assault on the oil and gas industry like we have seen in the last 18 months. The Biden administration, I think, really is to blame. There is significant overreach right up front. And in doing so, they bought this issue of energy poverty and they put it on their own shoulders. That is the biggest issue and we’ve been pushing back on them over and over and over again. If I’m a senior living on a fixed income, there are some things I can’t control. Nor can I control the price of energy, and that is something that I have to have. And the administration has been very slow and frankly unresponsive and uncaring in terms of what their policies are actually creating. We’re being squeezed by a regulatory regime, which is frightening,” Stewart said.        

John Grimaldi writes for the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC), a senior-advocacy organization with 2.4 million members. 

India is surpassing China to become the world’s most populous nation, according to data from the United Nations. This is a significant development with more than symbolic importance.

India, with its huge, diverse population and its growing economy, is poised to play a leading role in global affairs. It’s also a key U.S. ally, but our relationship isn’t always as smooth as we might like. The rise of India presents both opportunities and challenges for American foreign policy.

The nation of 1.4 billion people has long taken pride in being the world’s largest democracy, but recent developments — including limits on free speech and political activity and efforts to define India as a Hindu nation — have raised questions about its commitment to democratic norms.

India celebrated 75 years of independence last year, and it has been in the global spotlight. Its fast-growing economy is the world’s fifth largest, having surpassed the United Kingdom, its former colonial ruler. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to make a state visit to Washington, D.C. soon, and President Joe Biden will travel to Delhi in the fall for a Group of 20 summit.

India is growing while China and many Western countries are not. India enjoys a “demographic dividend” because so many of its people are young and moving into the workforce. China has an aging population and a growing share of retirees, partly because of the one-child policy that it pursued until recently.

Economic reforms over the past 30 years have helped boost India’s economy, which includes a fast-growing services component, a strong tech sector, and a dynamic startup culture. Business services, such as outsourcing and information technology, are a major part of its $3 trillion GDP. Modi has promoted “digital public infrastructure,” and a ubiquitous instant-payment system has transformed domestic commerce. Indian culture — including food, films, and music — has tremendous global influence. India struggles with poverty and pollution, however. Some regions are prosperous, but others are not. It lags far beyond China in the size of its economy, per-capita economic output, and health indicators like infant mortality and life expectancy. Only one in five Indian women are in the formal workforce.

Ethnic divisions are serious, and Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which is rooted in Hindu nationalism, has been tied to anti-Muslim violence. The government has taken an authoritarian turn. It has instituted citizenship-verification requirements and sent longtime residents to detention centers when they couldn’t prove they were born in India. Opposition leaders have been arrested; and one, Rahul Gandhi, was sentenced to two years in jail for defaming the prime minister.

India has also frustrated American and European leaders by declining to condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine. Instead, India has strengthened its ties with Russia and increased trade; it relies on Russia for food, fuel, and fertilizer. Long a British colony, and later a nonaligned nation, India doesn’t take kindly to being pressured or lectured by the West.

U.S. officials are reluctant to publicly criticize India, however. It is a “trusted trading partner,” as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on a recent visit. U.S.-India bilateral trade reached $157 billion in 2021. Indian investment in the U.S. totals $12.7 billion and supports 70,000 jobs. American universities enroll almost 200,000 Indian students. Perhaps more importantly, India is a key strategic ally and a counterbalance to China, which seeks to expand its influence in Asia and globally.

As countries take sides in a global competition between democratic norms, exemplified by the United States, and China’s autocratic model, India — the world’s most populous nation — could tilt the scales one way or the other. Maintaining a productive relationship with India is vital for the U.S. and the West.        

Lee Hamilton, 92, is a senior advisor for the Indiana University (IU) Center on Representative Government, distinguished scholar at the IU Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, and professor of practice at the IU O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Hamilton, a Democrat, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years (1965-1999), representing a district in south-central Indiana.