Republicans and the White House traded barbs Monday as the new GOP House majority looks to prevent the administration from selling more of the nation’s oil stockpile for non-emergency use.
As part of the GOP’s energy agenda, the House will vote on legislation as early as this week to restrict the administration from tapping into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) “except in the case of a severe energy supply interruption,” such as a hurricane or other natural disasters.
If a president did want to authorize a release for what the measure deems non-emergency purposes, such as trying to lower prices, the secretary of the Department of Energy would be required to increase oil and natural gas production on federal lands to offset a drawdown.