President Obama Called on to Release Oil from Strategic Reserve

Press Release

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree said this morning that rising energy prices are creating a crisis situation for Maine families and that President Obama should release oil held in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).

"Speculation by the big oil companies is driving up prices of gas and heating oil and making it even harder for working families to make ends meet," Pingree said. "And it's not just the cost of driving your car or heating your home either. Rising diesel prices are also pushing up the price of groceries and other necessities. For families still struggling in this weak economy, this is a real crisis."

Pingree said tapping into the oil reserves would have an immediate effect on prices.

"The last three Presidents have all released oil from the SPR and in each case prices went down," Pingree said. "Based on those experiences, oil prices could go down by at least 10% and possibly by as much as a third."

Pingree says a variety of factors have been driving prices upward.

"The turmoil in the Middle East is out of our control, but there are also other factors that are driving up prices, like excessive speculation," Pingree said. "The big oil companies are taking advantage of the situation in oil producing countries to drive up prices with speculation. That has to stop."

Pingree also called for a long-term solution to our energy problems.

"We need to act now to try and bring some relief to families who are struggling to make ends meet, but we also have to work to create an American-made solution to our long-term energy problems. That means getting off imported oil and switching to new sources of renewable energy that we generate here at home," Pingree said.

Pingree and a group of her colleagues wrote to President Obama this week to make the case for releasing oil from the SPR.

Source