Golden Votes to Keep Reliable Oil Supply in Strategic Petroleum Reserve

WASHINGTON — Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) released a statement today following his vote this afternoon for the Strategic Production Response Act. The bill would limit the ability of an administration to initiate a drawdown of petroleum from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in non-emergency situations until the Department of Energy develops a plan to increase the percentage of federal lands leased for oil and gas production to backfill the reserve.

“Ensuring our emergency petroleum reserves are always in good supply is crucial for our country’s economic stability and our nation’s security,” said Golden. “These reserves are there for emergencies and the bill I voted for will in no way stand in the way of the White House pulling from the reserves in those circumstances, such as the most recent drawdowns following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It is in the best interest of hard-working Americans, who are facing rising prices at the pump, to require a comprehensive plan from any Administration in power to replace our stockpile as they dip into it.”

Established in 1975, the SPR currently holds more than 371 million barrels of oil. By law, the president is authorized to draw down and sell oil from the SPR in the event of an emergency resulting from a severe supply interruption that causes dramatic energy price increases for consumers. Since March of last year, President Biden has used that authority to release over 211 million barrels of oil in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Energy experts estimate that the releases from the SPR have discounted prices by about 40 cents per gallon of regular gasoline. Presidents from both parties have ordered SPR drawdowns and sales in 1991, 2005, and 2011.  Because the plan required by the Strategic Production Response Act only applies to non-emergency drawdowns, the president would still be able to act quickly and decisively in releasing barrels from the SPR in an emergency situation. 

Since 2021, Golden has led members of the House to successfully push for releases from the SPR to help combat rising oil and gas prices. In November of 2021, he led a group of New England lawmakers to call on the White House to release oil from the SPR to get ahead of rising energy prices that winter. Shortly afterwards, the White House announced it would release 50 million barrels from the reserve. In March of the following year, Golden worked across the aisle with Representatives Dusty Johnson (SD-AL), Jim Baird (IN-04), and Don Bacon (NE-02) to propose a three-pronged plan to the administration to lower oil and gas prices, including continued releases from the SPR and a long-term commitment to oil and gas producers to backfill the SPR to provide certainty to oil producers. Later that month, the president announced a “huge” release of 1 million barrels a day. In September, Golden and Rep. Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05) led a group of lawmakers to call on the president to continue to make significant releases from the SPR and to outline a plan to backfill the reserve. In October, the White House announced additional releases from the reserve and plans to backfill its supply. 

###