It’s impossible to analyze the political calculations of world leaders without factoring in global energy. In this episode, listen along with Jen and Joe Briney as they listen to a U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing examining the Global Energy Outlook, which has served to determine the foreign policy decisions of U.S. leaders throughout 2018.

Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links

• Click here to contribute a lump sum or set up a monthly contribution via PayPal

• Click here to support Congressional Dish for each episode via Patreon

• Send Zelle payments to: [email protected]

• Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney

• Use your bank’s online bill pay function to mail contributions to:

5753 Hwy 85 North Number 4576 Crestview, FL 32536

Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish

Thank you for supporting truly independent media!

Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes

• CD167: Combating Russia (NDAA 2018) LIVE

• CD156: Sanctions – Russia, North Korea, Iran

Sound Clip Sources

Hearing: Full committee hearing to examine the domestic and global energy outlook, U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, January 16, 2018.

• Watch on C-SPAN: Domestic and global energy outlook
• Witness
  • Dr. Fatih Birol CV

    • World Economic Forum: Faith Birol, Executive Director, International Energy Agency

    • World Economic Forum: Leadership and Governance

Debate: House Debate on Russia, Iran and North Korea Sanctions, C-SPAN, July 25, 2017.

• 15:15 Tim Ryan (OH): What’s happening with these sanctions here in the targeting of Russian gas pipelines—their number one export—I think is entirely appropriate. The Nord Stream 2, which carries gas from Russia through the Baltics to Germany—and I know Germany isn’t happy about it, but this is something that we have to do. And the point I want to make is we have to address this issue in a comprehensive way. We must continue to focus on how we get our gas here in the United States, our natural gas, to Europe, to our allies, so they’re not so dependent on Russia. We’ve got to have the sanctions, but we’ve also got to be shipping liquid natural gas to some of these allies of ours so they’re not so dependent on the Russians, which is part and parcel of this entire approach.

Additional Reading

• Report: Nord Stream 2 AG built over 150 miles of gas pipeline despite US opposition, Sputniknews, November 21, 2018.

• Article: Kremlin excoriates Poland’s ‘clumsy’ statement on Nord Stream 2, Russian Politics and Diplomacy, Tass.com, November 19, 2018.

• Article: Gloomy prospects in IEA’s latest World Energy Outlook by Jason Deign, GTM, November 13, 2018.

• Article: As NATO gets ready for its biggest military exercise in years, things are heating up closer to Russia by Christopher Woody, Business Insider, October 24, 2018.

• Report: IEA Urgest OPEC to open the taps as oil market enters ‘red zone’ by Javier Blas, Grant Smith, and Francine Lacqua, Bloomberg, October 9, 2018.

• Report: Boosting NATO’s presence in the east and southeast, NATO, September 10, 2018.

• Report: Trade war seen threatening next US LNG export wave by Corey Paul, S&P Global, August 23, 2018.

• Article: Why Nord Stream 2 is the world’s most controversial energy project, The Economist, August 7, 2018.

• Report: Development of Alaska’s ANWR would increase U.S. crude oil production after 2030, EIA, June 14, 2018.

• Analysis: How the Alaska Pipeline is fueling the push to drill in the Arctic Refuge by Philip Wight, Yale Environment 360, November 16, 2017.

• Statement: CAATSA/CRIEEA Section 232 Public Guidance, U.S. Dept. of State, October 31, 2017.

• Article: North Korea is sitting on a stockpile of minerals worth trillions by Chris Weller, Business Insider, June 29, 2017.

• Article: Pentagon pick Mattis discloses defense industry work by Jeremy Herb and Connor O’Brien, Politico, January 8, 2017.

• Article: Ukraine crisis is about Great Power oil, gas pipeline rivalry by Nafeez Ahmed, The Guardian, March 6, 2014.

Resources

• American Oil & Gas Historical Society: Trans-Alaska Pipeline History

• Chatham House: Chatham House Rule

• Congressional Research Service: Nord Stream 2: A Geopolitical Lightning Rod

• 2018 Government Funding Explanatory Statement: Funding for Ukraine

• Dept. of Defense Budget FY 2019: European Deterrence Initiative

• East European Gas Analysis: Ukrainian Gas Pipelines Map

• Gazprom: TurkStream Gas Pipeline

• Govtrack: H.R. 3364: Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act

• Govtrack: H.R. 6384: Countering Russian Power Plays Act

• Govtrack: S. 3229: Energy Security Cooperation with Allied Partners in Europe Act of 2018

• Govtrack: H.R. 6224: Protect Euorpean Energy Security Act

• Govtrack: H.R. 6437: Secure America from Russian Interference Act of 2018

• International Energy Agency: World Energy Outlook 2018

• International Energy Agency: World Energy Outlook 2017

• International Energy Agency: Energy Business Council

• International Energy Agency: History

• OpenSecrets.org: Sen. John A Barrasso – Wyoming

• OPEC: Member Countries

• Public Law: Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act

• Wikipedia: OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)

Visual Resources

• Nord Stream Map

• Trans-Alaska Pipeline

Community Suggestions

See more Community Suggestions HERE.

Cover Art

Design by Only Child Imaginations

Music Presented in This Episode

Intro & Exit: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio)

Most Recent Episodes

May 14, 2026

CD338: April 2026 — Bulldozing the Rules

April 2026 gave us a Congress that took a two-week vacation, came back to vote on war powers, Israel weapons sales, FISA surveillance, DHS funding, and whether Minnesota's clean water should be...

Listen · 1:28:02

April 23, 2026

CD337: March 2026 — At War, On Vacation

Congress took multiple vacations during a DHS shutdown, failed to check an unauthorized war with Iran, and passed just two bills—both honoring the dead. Meanwhile, a bipartisan majority voted to...

Listen · 44:20

April 10, 2026

CD336: SAVE America from Easily Voting

The SAVE Act and the SAVE America Act are two of the most searched bills in Congress right now—and they're confusing a lot of people. By digging into what these bills actually do—and the long...

Listen · 1:01:01

Load More Episodes

Jennifer Briney Podcaster

Jennifer Briney started paying attention to world events while studying in Germany in the spring of 2003 when the United States overthrew the government of Iraq. After experiencing the war from outside the United States, she started asking questions about her government. Every answer led to fifty more questions. This led to a thirst for information that she is still unable to quench.

Over the years, the feeling like she was the only person paying attention to this information was making Jen insane so in late 2012, she launched Congressional Dish in order to share the information, to have an emotional outlet for dealing with the discoveries, and to create a community of people who were interested in Congress’s effect on our lives. Congressional Dish is now her full-time career, thanks entirely to the support from our growing community of producers from all over the world.