Chairman Fleischmann Votes to Protect America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Washington, DC – U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann (TN-03), Chairman of the Energy and Water Subcommittee of Appropriations, released the following statement after voting to pass H.R. 21, the Strategic Production Response Act, which will protect America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) from being drained for political purposes.

“The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was created to ensure that the United States has access to emergency oil reserves in case of disruptions to the global or domestic oil market. The SPR was never intended to be used as a political tool to cover up policy failures resulting from the Biden Administration’s war on American-made energy. Since November 2021, President Biden has drained an unprecedented 250 million barrels of oil, more than 40 percent of the stockpile, from the SPR, leaving it at its lowest level since 1984. Because of Biden’s actions, America is at a high risk of not having the oil reserves we need to function in case of a national emergency.”

“Instead of following an unsustainable policy of draining our nation’s emergency oil reserves, I urge the Biden Administration and my Democrat colleagues in Congress to join House Republicans to promote an all-of-the-above energy policy that utilizes America’s abundant oil and natural gas reserves, nuclear power, and other renewables. The solution to high gas and energy prices is to unleash American-made energy, not draining our strategic oil reserves to dangerously low levels.”