Rep. Foster Fights to Lower Gas Prices

Press Release

Today, Rep. Bill Foster (IL-14) voted to pass H.R. 6022, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) Fill Suspension and Consumer Protection Act of 2008. The legislation would direct the Secretaries of Energy and Interior to temporarily suspend the filling of the SPR.

"Gas prices are driving businesses off the road and are causing families in the 14th Congressional District of Illinois to postpone or even forego their annual vacations," Foster said. "Astronomically high gas prices are placing a tremendous burden on middle class families in Illinois, and I am pleased to support legislation that will immediately give our families a break."

Filling the SPR takes 70,000 barrels of oil off the market each day, even though the reserve is 97 percent full with enough oil to meet our national security needs. In fact, the SPR currently holds the highest level of oil ever, containing 702.7 million barrels of oil. Temporarily suspending purchases of oil for the SPR would allow more oil to remain on the market, and could drive down the price of gas to consumers by as much as a twenty-four cents per gallon.

"I sent a letter to President Bush to urge him to temporarily halt the fill of the SPR, and I was a co-sponsor of the original House bill to do the same," Foster said. "Temporarily halting the fill of the SPR is a strategic move that has been utilized successfully by Presidents in the past, and it is one thing that we can do right now to alleviate the pain consumers feel at the pump."

The call to temporarily halt the fill of the SPR has been a bipartisan recommendation, and the bill has passed both houses of Congress with overwhelming bipartisan majorities. Yesterday, the legislation passed the Senate by a vote of 97-1 and the bill passed the House last night by a vote of 385-25.

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