Cathy McMorris Rodgers - the Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee | Official U.S. House headshot
Cathy McMorris Rodgers - the Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee | Official U.S. House headshot
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-WY) have addressed a letter to Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Jennifer Granholm. This correspondence follows reports indicating that the Biden administration is planning to further deplete the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The letter urges Secretary Granholm to protect the SPR and cease its use for what they describe as political purposes during an election year.
The letter states, “Under President Biden, the SPR has reached its lowest level since 1983. The DOE has overseen the largest sale in history, amounting to a total of 290 million barrels. When President Biden took office in January 2021, the SPR contained 638 million barrels of oil. Today, the SPR currently contains 367 million barrels of oil, which represents nearly a 42 percent decline from when President Biden took office.”
Further criticism is directed at the administration's handling of gasoline prices and energy policies. “Under the Biden administration, the SPR has been abused for political purposes to try and bring down record high gasoline prices that are driving record high inflation that are a consequence of the administration’s radical rush to 'green' energy policies,” reads another excerpt from the letter. It continues by highlighting specific instances: “In November of 2021, the Biden administration announced a release, in coordination with China, in an attempt to lower prices. Then in March of 2022, the president announced the release of 180 million barrels of oil from the SPR in the middle of an election year, a transparent attempt to influence the midterm elections and distract from the Biden administration’s energy policy failures.”
Rodgers and Barrasso conclude their appeal by emphasizing energy security concerns: “We urge you, in the strongest terms, to put this country’s energy security first and stop abusing the SPR for political purposes. As the Secretary of Energy, it is your responsibility to ensure that the SPR is ready to respond to true energy supply disruptions.”
The full text of Rodgers and Barrasso’s letter can be accessed online through provided links.
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