Republican leaders are calling for a watchdog investigation into the Biden administration’s use of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee ranking member John Barrasso have written a letter to the Government Accountability Office requesting an investigation into the Department of Energy’s reliance on the SPR, which they claim has undermined U.S. energy security.
In the letter, the lawmakers express their concerns over the DOE’s failure to establish long-term plans for the reserve, the rapid depletion of the SPR, and the agency’s heavy reliance on the reserve. They also raise concerns over the repeated drawdown of oil stocks from the SPR, which could ultimately erode the SPR’s physical integrity.
President Joe Biden has ordered the DOE to release about 260 million barrels of oil stored in the SPR since taking office to combat record fuel prices. This has left the SPR at its lowest level since October 1983.
The lawmakers argue that the Biden administration’s actions have left the country more vulnerable to energy supply disruptions and have given foreign countries like OPEC and Russia the ability to use energy as a geopolitical weapon.
It is crucial that the Biden administration prioritize America’s energy security and take action to ensure that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is in good shape and prepared to protect the American people in times of emergency.
The Republicans’ call for a watchdog investigation is a necessary step to ensure that the DOE is held accountable for its mismanagement of the SPR and its failure to establish long-term plans for the reserve.
Source Fox News