Biden's SPR Decision, New Fees Are Shortsighted, Unsustainable

Press Release

Today, President Joe Biden announced an unprecedented drawdown from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), intending to place 1 million barrels of oil on the market every day for the next six months and increase fees on federal oil and gas leaseholders. House Committee on Natural Resources Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) issued the following statement in response:

"The president's decision could not be more shortsighted. Instead of looking at the root cause of the energy crisis, his own assaults on American production, he's chosen to jeopardize our long-term energy and national security by depleting our strategic reserves. The SPR is supposed to be used for emergencies and national defense, not as a Band-Aid for crises of the administration's own making. This is now the third time President Biden has issued historic releases in the past several months. Instead of supporting domestic production, President Biden has proposed new fees on permits and federal acreage for leaseholders - costs that will ultimately manifest as higher energy prices for American consumers. This administration has failed to issue a single new lease and is sitting on thousands of permits, rights-of-way and other authorizations necessary to use currently-held leases. Their inaction is the root cause of rising energy prices, and new taxes and fees are not the solution. President Biden must issue all necessary permits and rights-of-way and approve proposed pipeline projects so we can sustainably produce our own domestic energy. Instead, this administration is too caught up in radical Twitter ideologies to see reason. It's completely untenable, and Americans will continue feeling pain at the gas pump as a result."

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