Biden will veto even if Republican-sponsored SPR is approved, US Energy Secretary
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President will not allow American people to suffer because of regressive agenda, Jennifer Granholm
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If a Republican-sponsored measure on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is approved by Congress, President Joe Biden will veto it, US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm has said.
Granholm cautioned Republicans in a letter last week that restricting the ability of the Democratic president to use the country s oil reserves would compromise national security and result in shortages of crude oil with increased cost of fuel.
At a White House press briefing, Granholm stated of Biden, "He will not allow the American people to suffer because of the regressive agenda that House Republicans are promoting."
Unless there is a serious oil supply emergency, a measure dubbed HR21 would forbid the energy secretary from using the SPR without first developing a strategy to enhance oil and gas leasing on federal lands.
A Republican assistant to the House Committee on Energy stated, "We would seek to restrict usage of the SPR for only those cases where there is a significant supply interruption."
In reaction to rising oil costs brought by by Russia s invasion of Ukraine and as travel picked up as the COVID-19 outbreak subsided, Biden often used SPR last year.
The reserve level dropped to its lowest point since late 1983 when Biden announced a record 180 million-barrel sale over six months in March of last year.
This month, the Energy Department turned down the first round of oil firms proposals to refill a tiny quantity of petroleum to SPR.
In addition to saving money for taxpayers by purchasing oil at a cheaper price than the government originally paid for supplies, Granholm expressed confidence that the US will be able to refill the SPR.
