Washington, DC – U.S. Representative Judy Biggert (R-IL-13th) today issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Energy announced the Administration’s decision to release 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), last tapped during the 2008 hurricane season:

            “The Administration’s short-sighted response to high gas prices is no substitute for increasing domestic energy production.  In fact, it threatens to make us more vulnerable if an actual security crisis or natural disaster occurs. 

             “American consumers are struggling to afford the high cost of transportation, and small businesses everywhere are facing increasingly difficult choices just to stay in business.  We need serious solutions, and the President seems more interested in blunting criticism from holiday motorists than working with House lawmakers to solve the problem.  Just yesterday, we passed legislation – without the President’s support -- to minimize permitting delays on domestic exploration, a move that could significantly expand energy production.  We need an all-of-the-above approach, and that means working together on alternative energy, domestic oil production, and advanced technology.  Draining our emergency oil reserves is barely a band-aid, and Americans deserve better.”

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