NEWS RELEASE

Committee on Energy and Commerce
Rep. John D. Dingell, Chairman

Dingell on Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Washington, D.C. – Rep. John D. Dingell (D-MI), the Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, issued the following statement regarding news that the President has signed into law legislation that will suspend the filling of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) through the end of the year, as long as the price of crude oil remains above $75 per barrel.

Earlier this month, Dingell wrote to the President to urge that the Department of Energy not enter into any new contracts for filling the SPR during 2008.

“I am pleased by the President’s decision to sign into law this bipartisan legislation.

“I have long supported filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and strongly support the Energy Policy Act of 2005 provision that directed the Secretary of Energy to fill the Reserve ‘as expeditiously as practicable’ to the full one billion barrel capacity authorized under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. The Energy Policy Act of 2005, however, also requires that the Secretary time SPR acquisitions in a manner that does not incur excessive costs, or appreciably affect the consumer price of petroleum products.

“In light of the record cost of oil and resulting hardship for average Americans, businesses, farmers, and the general economy, common sense would say not to take oil off the market during this period of record high prices. While there is no guarantee that putting this oil onto the market rather than into the SPR will lower prices, even the modest step of suspending such acquisitions for the time being could potentially prick the speculative bubble now characterizing oil markets.”

Read the letter »

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