The President’s decision to release millions of barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an effort to lower fuel prices drew the ire of Oklahoma congresswoman Stephanie Bice.
In her weekly column released Tuesday, she called it a “desperate” effort on Biden’s part, adding “he continues to slap a bandage on this self-inflicted crisis.”
“Biden’s misguided decisions are deeply concerning because they make our nation less secure. Furthermore, this policy will not solve our energy crisis and will fail to relieve prices at the pump in the long term,” said Rep. Bice.
She said the SPR is supposed to be used for national security emergencies and “not as a Hail Mary when Democrats’ anti-energy policies fail.”
Bice also called it “astonishing” that Biden is willing to put the country’s national security at risk rather than reinstating American energy production to meet growing demand.
“Overall, I am incredibly disappointed that Biden has continued to blatantly turn a blind eye to our reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy sources right here on our own soil, all while depleting our nation’s emergency reserves,” said Rep. Bice.
Below is the congresswoman’s weekly column:
President Biden has been desperately searching for ways to lower record-high gas prices, yet instead of addressing the root causes, he continues to slap a bandage on this self-inflicted crisis by tapping into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). This is the third time Biden has tapped into this emergency reserve since coming into office. In November, he chose to release 50 million barrels of oil and in early March he released 30 million more. Now he has announced a plan to release up to 180 million more barrels over the next six months, which is the largest withdrawal in 50 years. Biden’s misguided decisions are deeply concerning because they make our nation less secure. Furthermore, this policy will not solve our energy crisis and will fail to relieve prices at the pump in the long term.
The SPR is an emergency stockpile of petroleum maintained by the United States Department of Energy and was first created in 1975 to deal with the OPEC oil embargo. The SPR is supposed to be strictly used for national security emergencies and severe weather events, not as a Hail Mary when Democrats’ anti-energy policies fail. The SPR is already at a troubling 20-year low, and his recent release would result in a 30% decrease in our already depleted supply. It is astonishing that Biden is willing to put our national security at risk rather than turning to the simple solution of reinstating American energy production to meet growing demand.
Sadly, Biden’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget is further proof that he has no sign of pursuing the common-sense solution. In his proposal, he explicitly opposed funding the construction or maintenance of projects that would lower the cost of gas, diesel, or energy derived from fossil fuels. In fact, his budget would impose $45 billion in new taxes on domestic energy production, while allocating $44.9 billion of taxpayer funds for climate priorities. While I support investing in emerging technologies to produce cleaner, safer, and more efficient solutions to our energy sector, these proposals are extremely out-of-touch with the current needs of our nation. We can’t afford to further discourage investment in American energy independence when gas and heating prices are astronomically detrimental to our economy and the well-being of American families.
Overall, I am incredibly disappointed that Biden has continued to blatantly turn a blind eye to our reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy sources right here on our own soil, all while depleting our nation’s emergency reserves. We should not continue to deplete our emergency resources while ignoring the underlying problem. It is vital that Biden find long term solutions to lower the price of gas at the pump. He should look no further than hardworking Oklahomans and fully unleash the untapped potential of our great nation.