House Republicans have worked through their internal power dynamics at the start of the 118th Congress and have officially gotten down to business. Right out of the gate, one of the main priorities has been legislation focused on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), responding to what many see as the politically motivated drawdowns by President Joe Biden before last year’s midterm elections.
The SPR was created to protect the United States from oil shortages and price spikes caused by physical supply disruptions. However, over the last two years, President Biden has authorized the sale of more than 250 million barrels of oil, or approximately 40 percent of the reserve, to tamp down domestic gas prices in a contentious election year.
Roosevelt Conservation Caucus member and Chair of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05), has led the SPR charge with two bills, both of which have since passed the House.
First up was H.R. 22, the Protecting America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act, which passed 331-97, earning substantial support from Democrats and Republicans. This bill addressed the fact that one of the main beneficiaries of the President’s decision to draw down the SPR has been China.
SPR oil is sold through a competitive bidding process, and buyers are not restricted by nationality. China state-owned companies have gladly taken advantage of this by purchasing approximately 2 million barrels of SPR oil on the secondary market.
“Draining our strategic reserves for political purposes and selling it to China is a significant threat to our national and energy security,” said Rep. McMorris Rodgers in a statement following this bill’s passage.
Next up was H.R. 21, the Strategic Production Response Act, which the House passed last week. Also introduced by Chair McMorris Rodgers, H.R. 21 limits SPR drawdowns until the Department of Energy develops a plan to increase the percentage of federal lands leased for domestic oil and gas production.
The United States has the largest recoverable oil reserves in the world, but President Biden has shown little interest in increasing domestic oil and gas production. During his second week in office, for instance, the President signed an executive order to limit all new oil and gas leasing on federal lands and waters. His administration has also looked to blame U.S. companies for not producing on existing leases, while at the same time, refusing to approve permits and bogging down producers in a regulatory jumble.
It has been frustrating to energy security advocates and others to watch the Biden administration suppress domestic production of traditional energy resources while emptying our reserves.
Given our resources and capabilities, abundant, affordable, reliable, and secure energy should not be squandered, nor used as a tool for political gain.
While the Democrtic controlled Senate is unlikely to take up either bill, their quick movement out of the House shows the level of concern in Washington. Energy security is economic security, and we must continue to hold Congress’s feet to the proverbial fire.
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Update as of 2/28/23: House Republicans are moving forward with an aggressive energy agenda