Louisiana's senior senator joins Republican Sen. John McCain, Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in retaliatory list banning them from traveling to Russia.
Photo by Robin May
"Being sanctioned by President Putin ... will not stop me from using my power as chair of the Energy Committee to promote America as an energy superpower and help increase energy exports around the world," U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu said in a statement hours after delivering the keynote address at LOGA's annual meeting. (At right is Lafayette oil man Mark Miller.)
Now here's a list worth making.
Sen. Mary Landrieu, who was in Lake Charles this morning delivering the keynote address at the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association's annual meeting, is on a list of U.S. officials subject to new Russian sanctions, including a ban on travel to the country.
The sanctions likely were a retaliatory response to sanctions announced Thursday by President Barack Obama against Russian officials for taking their annexation of Crimea in the Ukraine.
Landrieu, the chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee who is seeking a fourth term, immediately responded, calling the sanctions a "badge of honor" and vowing to make America "an energy superpower to lessen Russian influence."
"Being sanctioned by President Putin is a badge of honor. It will not stop me from using my power as chair of the Energy Committee to promote America as an energy superpower and help increase energy exports around the world," said Landrieu, who earlier today, before word of the sanctions broke, announced that the energy committee she chairs would be holding a hearing next week on natural gas exports.
"We must minimize Russia's influence over Europe, the former Soviet states - especially Ukraine that has fought so long for freedom - and our allies. And it most certainly will not stop me from advocating for orphans in Russia and around the world," Landrieu added. (Read more on the adoption issue here.)
Here's how Yahoo! News reported the new development:
Vladimir Putin probably didn't expect that newly announced Russian sanctions on nine Americans - three top White House aides, three Republicans and three Democrats in Congress - would spark a bipartisan love-in in Washington.
But that's exactly what happened on Thursday as Moscow retaliated for expanded U.S. sanctions by freezing the assets of a select handful of high-profile Americans and banning them from travel inside Russia.
Yahoo posted several tweets, including one from Republican House Speaker John Boehner to Dan Pfeiffer, a senior adviser to President Obama, for making the list. Read the story here.
Also on the list are Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., Speaker John Boehner, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
All nine officials appear pumped at making the list: "Proud to be included on a list of those willing to stand against Putin's aggression," Boehner tweeted.