On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced a decision to sell 1 million barrels of gasoline to the commercial market from a reserve in a bid to push down prices at the pump this summer.
The plan comes as President Joe Biden is running for a second term in the White House in this year’s November election while dealing with the scourge of inflation, a fact that Republican officials noted in reacting to the decision.
“President Biden is yet again using America’s emergency fuel reserves to cover for his disastrous inflationary policies in an election year,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) said in a post to X.
Stores from the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve (NGSR) will be sold in a “competitive bidding process” to help “lower costs for American families and consumers” in the run-up to Independence Day, per the Energy Department.
“The Biden-Harris Administration is laser focused on lowering prices at the pump for American families, especially as drivers hit the road for summer driving season,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement.
“By strategically releasing this reserve in between Memorial Day and July 4th, we are ensuring sufficient supply flows to the tri-state and northeast at a time hardworking Americans need it the most,” she added.
Not mentioned in the press release was how the United States, as recently as 2023, was consuming an average of roughly 8.94 million barrels of gasoline each day.
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The Obama administration created the NGSR in response to Superstorm Sandy, which damaged refineries and terminals when it hit the northeastern United States in 2012, leaving some gas stations without fuel for weeks.
Because the Biden administration has also sapped the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in an attempt to stabilize global oil markets and combat rising gasoline prices, some critics argued the president has placed the country at risk.
“Joe Biden’s failed Far Left Democrats anti-American energy agenda continues to compromise our national security,” said the X account for House Republicans, responding to news of the planned NGSR release.
“This is ridiculous,” said Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA). “Instead of depleting our oil reserves, the President should support American energy production.”
He added, “He can start by calling on the Senate to pass the Lower Energy Costs Act and signing this bill into law so that we can lower gas prices for American families.”