https://www.cfact.org/2022/03/31/biden-irresponsibly-taps-strategic-petroleum-reserve/
By
President Biden announced that he will tap into America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) and will consume one third of it in an attempt to control rising gas prices.
This is as irresponsible as it is dangerous.
Following the Arab oil embargo of the 1970’s, the SPR was built in salt caverns in Texas and Louisiana. It can hold over 700 million barrels of oil. When the oil is needed, water is pumped into the reserve, pushing the oil up and out, and then distributed.
The SPR is America’s insurance policy in case of emergencies such as war, disaster or famine. Occasionally presidents have authorized small releases of oil from the reserve to try and influence markets, but nothing like the million barrels a day Biden intends. With a shooting war in Europe, and China arming itself against Taiwan, we should not deplete the fuel our planes, ships and vehicles would need should war come.
Washington told us right at the start, “to be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.” Burning our strategic fuel to score political points, while simultaneously blocking pipelines and supply, is as provocative to adversaries who would risk war as Biden’s disastrous retreat from Afghanistan proved.
Biden is attempting to blame Vladimir Putin and energy companies for skyrocketing prices. This is blatantly false.
Biden made it plain in 2020 when he said, “no more subsidies for the fossil fuel industry, no more drilling on federal lands, no more drilling, including offshore, no ability for the industry to continue to drill… It ends.” Americans understand that oil prices were on the rise well before Ukraine.
U.S. Oil & Gas Association President, Jim Stewart said, “The (Biden) Administration is acting like the deadbeat nephew who refuses to find a job and instead opens a new credit card each month while he finishes ‘writing that screenplay.’”
The Biden administration is populated by anti-energy zealots. Biden is changing the name of the agency which overseas the SPR to the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management. Should our energy department consist of engineers and scientists working diligently to make efficient energy abundant, or Green campaigners working to shut production down?
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler just announced that SEC will require public companies to report Greenhouse gas emissions from their operations and supply chains. The Wall Street Journal replied, “Democrats can’t pass their climate agenda through Congress, so they are using financial regulation to block investment in fossil fuels.”
Biden’s blockade of American energy production and transportation, demonizing of energy companies, and political depletion of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, is dangerous and irresponsible.
As the WSJ concluded, “Vladimir Putin will be delighted.”
President Biden speech on energy
and releasing one third of
U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve
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The Strategic Petroleum Reserves Are Going Down Biden’s Drain – Joe showed himself to historically short-sighted and political move, our strategic reserves will be cut in half. If we have an existential emergency, it will be at zero before long. And Biden has no logical plan to refill the reserves. We ask again: can America withstand another nearly 3 years of this administration? It’s already making our great nation nearly unrecognizable.
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So after 50 years of being virtually empty, I built up our oil reserves during my administration, and low energy prices, to 100% full. It’s called the Strategic National Reserves, and it hasn’t been full for many decades. In fact, it’s been mostly empty. It’s supposed to only be used for large-scale emergency or conflict. Now I see where Biden has just announced he’s going to take what we so carefully and magically built, and what will be a futile attempt to reduce oil and gasoline prices. They will soon bring it down to empty again. It just never ends!
