Washington, DC – In light of rising gas prices, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton sent the following letter to President Bush today calling on him to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to help buffer the economy from the impact of new disruptions in the oil market.

The text of the letter follows:

The Honorable George W. Bush
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear President Bush:

I urge you to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to help buffer the economy from the impact of new disruptions in the oil market.

BP announced this morning that they will be shutting down their Alaska North Slope because of corrosion in the Prudhoe Bay oil transit line. This will take approximately 400,000 barrels a day out of production, an amount equal to 8 percent of U.S. oil production. It is unclear how long this supply disruption will last, but it comes at a time of already-high oil prices, and increasing upward pressure in oil markets due to the unrest in the Middle East. Last week, gasoline prices in New York hit new highs, and have doubled since January, 2001. Those prices mean that New Yorkers will spend nearly $9 billion more on gasoline this year than in 2001. Further price increases will hurt consumers and put an additional drag on the economy.

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) provides you with flexible authorities to respond to such situations by authorizing releases from the SPR to counter a “severe energy supply disruption.” In recent years, this authority has been used to counter disruptions resulting from hurricanes Katrina and Ivan. The BP pipeline disruption presents a similar threat to our oil supplies today. Oil prices have already risen by more than $1.50 per barrel today in response to the news. By acting now to release oil from the SPR, you can assure the markets that adequate supplies will be available should production remain off line for an extended time.

I thank you for your attention to this pressing matter and look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

Hillary Rodham Clinton

CC: The Honorable Samuel Bodman

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