Protecting America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve From China Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. CURTIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 22.

This morning, I listened very carefully to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle talk about this bill, many of whom I have great respect for their expertise in energy. I have, however, heard terms like ``political,'' ``political games,'' ``partisan.'' While this may be their perspective, I wish for just a moment that we could transport all of us to my district to see the perspective there, which is one of great hypocrisy.

On the one hand, instead of utilizing the vast American resources we cleanly produce, including in Utah, the President chose to use this country's strategic reserve to try to lower prices.

On the other hand, in fact, the President did this while attacking energy jobs in Utah by suspending energy development on Federal lands and raising the royalty to produce oil, two contributing factors to rising gas prices.

Not only did this release from the reserve barely make a dent in the cost of gas and weaken our national security, but it also directly strengthened our number one geopolitical adversary, China. Under no circumstances should our reserve be used to fund our adversaries.

Regardless of our views in this Chamber on the use of the reserve by the Biden administration, we should all agree our emergency supplies shouldn't be sent to our adversaries.

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