House Republicans on Feb. 28 introduced the “American Independence from Russian Energy Act,” a bill meant to authorize the Keystone XL pipeline, boost domestic oil and gas production, and prevent President Biden’s executive branch agencies from halting energy leasing on federal land and water, among other provisions. Yet, on March 1, the bill was shot down in a 221 to 202 vote, almost entirely along partisan lines. “Getting our pipelines expanded is huge,” said Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee and a co-sponsor of the bill, in an interview with The Epoch Times. “We’re having to import Russian energy to the New England states because we don’t have pipelines that can carry Pennsylvania natural gas up there.” U.S. crude oil imports from Russia more than doubled last year, rising to an average of 209,000 barrels per day in 2021, from a daily average of roughly …