Press Releases
Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami
202-226-7616
07/11/2008
Pelosi: ‘The President Must Free Our Oil in Strategic Petroleum Reserve to Help Bring Down Gas Prices’
Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today in response to President Bush’s comments on the economy and energy at a media availability at the Department of Energy this morning:
“The President once again refused to take responsibility for his disastrous economic and energy policies that have pushed our country to the brink of recession. His ‘drill only’ approach will do nothing to address America’s pain at the pump and will not increase supply for years.
“Democrats know that we need to increase supply here in America, and will act in the coming days to increase domestic production. The President failed to note that there are 68 million acres already leased by oil companies where no drilling is taking place and millions more acres in the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska, a reserve that has already been designated for the production of oil and gas.
“The New Direction Congress will soon bring forward legislation to help facilitate increased production in these lands and require Big Oil to ‘Use It or Lose It’ with legislation that will require diligent production on public lands and coastal areas already available for drilling— or lose their leases to someone else who will.
“More immediately to bring down gas prices for American consumers and businesses, the President should heed Democrats’ call to immediately release a small amount of oil from the more than 700 million barrel Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
“The American people know that with two oilmen in the White House for the past seven years, they now have $4 a gallon gas. The President must now support our legislative efforts to increase supply in the market and free our oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help bring down these record gas prices.”