Consumer Energy Supply Act of 2008

CONSUMER ENERGY SUPPLY ACT OF 2008 -- (House of Representatives - July 24, 2008)

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 6578, the Consumer Energy Supply Act, which would require a 70 million barrel exchange of light oil from the SPR in exchange for heavier crude at a later date. I introduced similar legislation in May 2008 to exchange 50 million barrels of light crude oil.

I believe, it is critically important to use the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, SPR, to address our national energy crisis. The SPR was created to protect the United States from oil supply disruptions and is now more than 97 percent full, its highest level ever. Unfortunately, the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration announced on July 23, 2008 that non SPR crude oil stocks are down more than 55 million barrels from a year ago and distillate stocks are only a few million barrels above last year's levels.

As I travel around Connecticut's Second Congressional District and meet with my constituents, I hear from families, school administrators and businesses about their concerns with high energy prices. While gasoline prices continue to hover above $4 per gallon in eastern Connecticut, residents and heating oil dealers are also concerned about the price and supply of heating oil this year.

At an April 2008 hearing before the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, Melanie Kenderdine, with MIT and formerly of the Energy Department, testified that an exchange of 50 million barrels of light crude from the SPR ``could be expected to temporarily drive down oil prices without appreciably reducing the insurance value of the SPR in the near term.''

In 2000, when heating oil stocks were low, the Administration undertook an exchange of 30 million barrels of oil from the SPR and the impact on prices was immediate. All of the oil was refined, despite worries about refining capacity, and crude oil prices dropped almost 20 percent. In addition, there were sufficient heating oil supplies that winter.

We need more oil on the market now to bring down the price of crude oil and gasoline and before the cold New England winter sets in. That is why I introduced my legislation and why I recognize that even more oil is needed on the market than my bill required. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6578.

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