Two top Republicans on energy, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY), blasted the Biden administration for “its political abuse and misuse of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.”
In a letter addressed to Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce chairwoman and Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ranking member detailed their opinion of how the Biden administration has “abused” the SPR for political purposes.
“We write with concerns about the Biden administration’s mismanagement of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR),” they wrote. “The SPR is a strategic national asset that is intended to be used in times of national emergencies, such as wars and natural disasters.”
President Joe Biden announced last week that it was releasing one million barrels of gasoline “to reduce prices at the pump” ahead of the Fourth of July. The White House announcement said the release from the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve builds on Biden’s “historic releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.”
The Department of Energy says the SPR was “established primarily to reduce the impact of disruptions in supplies of petroleum products and to carry out obligations of the United States under the international energy program,” and “SPR oil is sold competitively when the President finds, pursuant to the conditions set forth in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), that a sale is required.”
The Republican leaders continued, accusing Biden of releasing the barrels of gasoline in order to bring down gas prices.
“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,” they wrote.
The pair accused the administration of attempting to lower gas prices to sway voters before the 2024 election, just as they claim the administration did for the 2022 midterm elections. Their concern is rooted in the fact they believe a drawdown of the SPR will have “implications on the energy and national security of the United States.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to the DOE for comment.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“We urge you, in the strongest terms, to put this country’s energy security first and stop abusing the SPR for political purposes,” McMorris Rodgers and Barrasso wrote. “As the Secretary of Energy, it is your responsibility to ensure that the SPR is ready to respond to true energy supply disruptions. We ask that you ensure that the SPR is not abused for political purposes in this election year, as it was in 2022.”
Gas prices have been steadily rising, but they lowered from their all-time high average of $5.02 per gallon in June 2022.