GOP Rep. Tim Moore: 'We Don't Need to Be Cozying Up to Russia'

On Monday’s broadcast of Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power,” Rep. Tim Moore (R-NC) criticized President Donald Trump easing restrictions on Russian diesel by saying, “I think that we don’t need to be cozying up to Russia in any way, and so, I would rather not go down that road.”

Moore said, “I think we ought to look at an export ban. We shouldn’t be exporting energy abroad when it’s costing so much here. We get very little to no oil from the Middle East. What’s happened is the international commodity market’s what’s affecting us. I do support initiatives that the president’s taken to allow the off-road diesel to be used. That’s going to save significant amounts. Here in North Carolina, our Republican legislature actually passed legislation to temporarily repeal the state’s gas tax. That’s already dropped gas prices by 40-some-odd cents. On my way here, we were seeing gas at three dollars and 40-something cents a gallon. That’s a lot better. Frankly, I wish in Washington, we had put a stay and rolled back the federal gas tax right now for a period. That would help a lot. But I don’t support the idea of buying diesel from Russia. I know the president’s looking at a number of options, and I applaud the things — the other things he’s done relative to that. But on that issue, I do disagree. I think that we don’t need to be cozying up to Russia in any way, and so, I would rather not go down that road.”

He continued, “But I do think the president has done good things with allowing the off-road use. That’s going to save a lot of money. Allowing what is called red dye type of diesel, it’s the same thing, but it’s just you pay less tax, and that’s going to give folks a break, because, as you know, when diesel’s expensive, it affects everything down the supply chain, you pay more for food, you pay more for everything. So, it’s critical. But I also do think there’s some price gouging going on in the industry, and we need to look at that.”

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