OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Strategic Production Response Act

Floor Speech

Date: Jan. 27, 2023
Location: Washington, DC

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Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to H.R. 21, the Strategic Production Response Act. Republicans brought H.R. 21 to the House Floor today to prohibit the Department of Energy from releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) until it expands oil and gas drilling on federal lands by the same percentage that it releases oil from the SPR.

House Republicans are once again doing the bidding of their Big Oil friends at Americans' expense, while threatening the President's ability to take timely action to lower prices for American consumers. When Putin invaded Ukraine and the oil prices soared worldwide, President Biden acted quickly to release oil from the SPR helping to lower gas prices for American families by $1.69 per gallon since their peak. Restricting the federal government's best tool in the middle of a global energy crisis--with no benefit other than increasing the profits of the fossil fuel industry--is a disservice and will harm working families who will bear the brunt of this decision.

The fossil fuel industry is already sitting on approximately 9,000 approved but unused permits for drilling on public lands because they are more concerned with keeping supply artificially low so that prices can stay artificially high to line their own pockets. This legislation could result in giving the fossil fuel industry an additional over 30 million acres of public lands for new oil and gas drilling--that is over 5 times the size of Minnesota, and 8 times the amount of public lands and waters currently available for oil and gas development.

This bill will only make us more dependent on fossil fuels. The growing threat of climate change is real, and in order to protect our planet, we must reduce carbon emissions and embrace a sustainable energy future. Congress should use its power to invest in developing alternative energy sources and expanding federal incentives making them more affordable for American consumers.

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