America's Petroleum Reserve
Floor Speech
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Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss President Biden's shortsighted decision to release 50 million barrels of oil from America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, depleting this national security asset by nearly 10 percent when there is no oil supply shortage, only a manmade one.
The United States' oil reserve is not a tool for the President to fix his own political problems. Sadly, this administration throws money away whenever the problems they create reflect poorly on them. We have seen this with COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns and vaccine mandates keeping people out of work, leftist political aims resulting in bad legislation, and a flagrant disregard for the national debt all leading to wasteful spending.
Rather than drain one of our essential national security assets to temporarily mask the effects of their policies, this administration should instead encourage our domestic, independent oil and gas producers to take steps to get oil production back up. I shudder to think that the President might drain another 10 percent of our Strategic Petroleum Reserve 2 months from now if our oil production continues to wane.
There are other solutions to this issue, like reinstating the Keystone pipeline and encouraging oil production on Federal lands just being two of them. Instead, this administration has canceled the Keystone pipeline, which would make 860,000 barrels of oil available daily, and has demanded a 50 percent fee increase for oil and gas leasing on Federal lands.
Just 2 years ago, the United States was producing 2 million more barrels of oil per day than we are now. We are down from 13 million barrels per day to 11 million barrels per day. That means if we could lift regulations and find creative strategies to get our oil production back up, we could create 50 million barrels of oil in just 25 days rather than dip into the emergency reserves.
Historically, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve has only ever been used in cases of natural disaster and war. With global unrest from COVID-19 and America's enemies looking to do us harm, this is not the time to needlessly weaken a national security asset that exists to provide energy to America in the event of an actual catastrophe in our country.
The only catastrophe in America right now is this administration's bad policies. I oppose the President using our emergency oil reserves in this brazen political tactic. This is unnecessary, irresponsible, and dangerous. Waters of the United States
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Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in defense of Kansas farmers and ranchers who have the right to manage their own resources without overreaching regulation from the Federal Government.
The Biden administration is hurting farmers, ranchers, and ag- business owners. Recently, they withdrew from the Navigable Waters Protection Rule which sought to undo the harm caused by the Waters of the United States, or WOTUS, rule from 2015, through which the Federal Government aimed to exact regulatory control over nearly all bodies of water, regardless of their size or connection to larger waterways. Because of this legislative mess, farmers and ranchers have had to conduct their businesses under three different regulatory definitions of water in just the past 6 years.
On a farm, water is the lifeblood of the operation, and farmers in Kansas don't need the Federal Government to tell them how to take care of it. Our farmers and ranchers are the original conservationists who continually update their practices to reduce water use and inputs to produce safe, affordable food while maintaining their water supply for generations to come.
Instead of worrying about what farmers in Kansas are doing with their puddles, the administration should instead focus on curbing inflation, getting Americans back to work, fixing the supply chain, and securing our borders. service academy nominations
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Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss one of my greatest privileges as a Member of Congress, participating in the service academy nominations process, which brings together my passions for engaging with young people, leadership development, and military service in this great country.
I am proud to come from a State with a rich history of military service. President Eisenhower graduated from West Point in 1915, which is why I felt it was appropriate to host our State's nomination process in his Presidential library in Abilene, Kansas. After watching young Kansas men and women go through the extensive and competitive nomination exercise, one of the members of our selection committee said: ``Meeting and working with these young people gives me hope for the future of our country.''
In the United States, we have a long tradition of young American patriots willingly embracing the duty to serve, to protect the homeland, to keep the peace abroad, and to secure our rights. Leaders serve, and I want to congratulate all the deserving young leaders who are recipients of service academy nominations. I thank them from the bottom of my heart for their willingness to sacrifice for this great country.
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