Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Politics Blogs -> The Gavel

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Politics

: The Gavel

House Passes Temporary Suspension of Oil Purchases for the SPR

By Jesse Lee

ADVERTISEMENTS

The House has just passed the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Fill Suspension and Consumer Protection Act, H.R. 6022 by a vote of 385-25. The measure suspends the fill of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve through the end of the year, as long as the price of crude oil remains above $75 per barrel. Last week, President Bush said he doesn?t ?think it would affect price,? but in 2006, as he was about to stop the addition of 1.7 million barrels of royalty-in-kind (RIK) oil to the SPR to combat rising gas prices, President Bush said, ?One way to ease price is to increase supply…. I’ve directed the Department of Energy to defer filling the reserve this summer. ? So by deferring deposits until the fall, we’ll leave a little more oil on the market.? [President Bush at the Renewable Fuels Association, 4/25/06]

By law, the Bush Administration has the authority to suspend the fill. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 permanently authorized the SPR and permits fill only if it can be established that adding to the SPR is not placing upward pressure on prices. This legislation temporarily suspends the Energy Department?s (DOE) ability to directly purchase oil for the SPR or to enter into new contracts to obtain it through the Department of Interior?s royalty-in-kind program through the end of the year. To address existing contracts, the legislation gives DOE flexibility to negotiate deferred delivery of oil for the SPR wherever practicable, and requires DOE to take contracted royalty-in-kind oil already on its way to the SPR. The bill is supported by the American Truckers Association, Air Transport Association, Public Citizen, Sierra Club and the Center for American Progress.

Learn more about the legislation in our current legislation section, and much more about the Democrats’ broader energy independence agenda in this Congress from our issues section.

Reps. Rahm Emanuel (IL-05), Peter Welch (VT-AL), and Ed Markey (MA-07) spoke in favor:

Rep. Emanuel: “Nobody’s suggesting this is going to resolve the energy crisis. It is a short-term alleviation of high prices that would in fact allow us to take the steps that we have not taken for 20 years. And also in the last five or six years. When the Vice President derided conservation, you acknowledge on the floor the importance of conservation, it was dismissed as part of our arsenal in our energy policy. When those of us who talked about investing in new alternative energy, wind, solar, thermal, it was also dismissed and continues to not only be dismissed but vetoed. That, too, is unilateral disarmament by the United States. So you are right, plenty of blame to go around. But there are plenty of solutions to also be picked up. Conservation was denied as a national policy and we have paid a price as a country.”

Rep. Welch: “This Strategic Petroleum Reserve is nearly full. We’re talking about topping it off. It’s very expensive to do so now with $126 per barrel oil. That when we’ve done it in the past it’s actually reduced that pump price. Just two examples of what it would mean in my small state of Vermont. I talked to a trucker from Barry, Vermont. They’ve got a company, drive a lot, it would put $300,000 in his bottom line if the price of gas went down 25 cents. A school district, in a rural area, it would be $30,000 off their bottom line if we could get the price down 25 cents. No one here is suggesting this is an answer to our energy situation. But we are suggesting and really, recommendations on a bipartisan basis, is that the tool that’s within our reach, we should use and do all we can on a short-term basis even as we debate long-term energy policies.”

Rep. Markey: “So here’s where we are. There’s something that President Bush can do right now to give relief to consumers at the pump as they are being shaken upside-down and having money shaken out of their pockets as they refill their tank. President Bush said in 2006, ?every little bit helps.? We know it’s not a panacea, but every little bit helps. Today he’s saying ?I’m sorry, I’m just going to go over and meet with the Sheiks in Saudi Arabia and ask them to please give us more oil that we can buy from them.? We should be more aggressive. One, stop filling it, 70,000 barrels a day. Two, start deploying 70,000 barrels day. You’ll see a huge change on the open market. Obama says yes. Clinton says yes. McCain says yes. President Bush still says no. Vote yes on the Welch resolution to ensure that the American consumer is protected at the pump.”

Full post as published by The Gavel on May 13, 2008 (boomark / email).