President Donald Trump is reportedly planning a pause in the federal 18-cent gas tax to bring pump prices under control.
CBS News reported on Monday that Trump wanted to pause the federal gas tax as the national average price per gallon has risen to $4.52, with states like California, where gas prices average around $6.15 per gallon, driving the average higher. Most have attributed that dramatic spike in prices to the ongoing war with Iran, and Trump has predicted that prices would return to normal levels, if not lower, before the end of the year.
&#8220;I think it&#8217;s a great idea,&#8221; the president said in a <a href="https://x.com/nancycordes/status/2053849805185548395">phone interview</a> with CBS&#8217;s Nancy Cordes. &#8220;Yup, we&#8217;re going to take off the gas tax for a period of time, and when gas goes down, we&#8217;ll let it phase back in.&#8221;
Cordes said that she also asked whether the Trump administration was considering a bailout for the airline industry as fuel costs continue to rise — and the president did not appear to think that was necessary.
&#8220;In our interview, Trump did not embrace the idea of a bailout for US air carriers as they contend with jet fuel costs that have doubled since the start of the war. A bailout proposal &#8216;hasn&#8217;t really been presented,&#8217; he said. &#8216;The airlines are doing not badly,'&#8221; Cordes posted.
Trump also made it clear that the United States was not closer to a deal with Iran to end the war and bring down the gas prices that way, telling Cordes that the Iranian regime&#8217;s latest offer was &#8220;a bad proposal, a stupid proposal, actually &#8230; done by people that have no clue as to the danger they&#8217;re in. Very stupid proposal. Badly written, badly delivered.&#8221;
Suspending the gas tax — which is 18.4 cents per gallon for regular and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel — cannot be done by executive order, however, and would require Congress to act.
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) said that he was ready to move on that, however, and <a href="https://x.com/HawleyMO/status/2053851177079484834">posted</a> on X Monday, &#8220;I’m introducing legislation today to suspend the gas tax.&#8221;
When faced with a similar situation in the spring of 2022, former President Joe Biden opted instead to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/while-biden-brags-about-releasing-oil-from-emergency-oil-stockpile-reserve-plunges-to-lowest-level-since-1985">drain resources</a> from the strategic oil reserves — to the tune of about 200 million barrels — dropping the reserves to their lowest levels since the mid-1980s.

California gas prices surge average surpassing $6 per gallon for regular unleaded

Trump Considers Move That Could Change Your Summer Plans

Donald Trump

Gas Prices

Gasoline

Iran war

Strategic Petroleum Reserve

This month marks a bleak anniversary for American families — and a perfect illustration of the cost of Joe Biden’s failures. It was just three years ago, in June of 2022, when gas prices in the United States <a href="https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/leafhandler.ashx?f=m&amp;n=pet&amp;s=emm_epm0_pte_nus_dpg">hit their highest</a> level in history, topping $5.00 per gallon.
That’s back when the Biden White House tried to make you believe this was all just an unavoidable consequence of global events. While they were <a href="https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/06/22/remarks-by-president-biden-on-gas-prices-and-putins-price-hike/">trying to spin</a> “Putin’s Price Hike,” the data told a far more damning story: gas prices started climbing immediately after Joe Biden took office. 
From his first day, President Biden declared war on American energy. He canceled pipelines, froze leases, threatened regulations, and proudly signaled to the world that under his administration, fossil fuels were enemy number one.
Predictably, markets responded. American oil production stalled. Investment dried up. Prices began their climb long before Vladimir Putin moved a single tank. By the time Russia invaded Ukraine, Biden’s energy mismanagement had already paved the way for a full-blown price crisis.
Remember: In early 2022, the Biden Administration’s response to Americans struggling with high gas prices was to <a href="https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/1501709925168431111?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1501709925168431111%7Ctwgr%5E3f652e74ef31f975ad787de9c56c9e187b56f658%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fpolitics%2Fclips-of-energy-sec-laughing-off-gas-price-concerns-resurface-as-pain-at-pump-intensifies">simply buy an electric car</a>. As the 2022 midterms approached, Biden faced the political fallout of his own policies.
In response, he didn’t encourage production or unleash American drillers. Instead, he reached for the most cynical tool at his disposal: the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), America’s emergency oil stockpile.
Designed to be used in times of true national crisis — war, natural disaster, or supply collapse — the SPR was never intended to bail out failing politicians. But that’s exactly what Biden used it for. To try and save his party as midterm elections loomed in 2022, the president opened the spigot and <a href="https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/10/18/fact-sheet-president-biden-to-announce-new-actions-to-strengthen-u-s-energy-security-encourage-production-and-bring-down-costs/">drained nearly 200 million barrels</a> from the SPR, the largest release in American history. He wasn’t trying to fix supply chains or repair his broken energy policy. He was trying to fix polling numbers.
<div id="attachment_937051" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-937051" class="size-large wp-image-937051" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-1241459724-864x576.jpg" alt="US President Joe Biden speaks in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., US, on Wednesday, June 22, 2022. Biden is asking Congress to enact a three-month gasoline tax holiday, after his administration's previous efforts failed to curb soaring pump prices that weigh heavily on his party's political fortunes. Photographer: Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-1241459724-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-1241459724-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-1241459724-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/GettyImages-1241459724.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
In fact, Biden didn’t even bother pretending otherwise. His own White House press releases framed the SPR release as a response to &#8220;Putin’s price hike&#8221; — ignoring, of course, that prices were already surging well before Russian troops crossed the border. And the timing? Pure politics. As the 2022 midterms approached and Democrats faced the real prospect of losing control of Congress, the White House scrambled to ease prices at the pump in a transparent bid to soften voter anger.
The political gamesmanship went even further behind the scenes. In October 2022, as OPEC considered production cuts that would have sent prices soaring once again, Biden administration officials <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/13/biden-admin-asked-saudi-arabia-to-postpone-opec-cut-by-a-month-saudis-say.html">secretly begged Saudi Arabia</a> to delay their cuts until after the election. Not reverse the cuts — just delay them long enough to avoid embarrassing headlines before voters went to the polls. The Saudis publicly confirmed the request. The Biden team was never trying to protect American drivers; they were trying to protect Democratic incumbents.
Today, America is paying the price for Biden’s short-term political fix. As war rages in the Middle East — this time with conflict escalating between Israel and Iran — the world sits on the edge of another energy shock. But our emergency reserve, which once held over 700 million barrels, is now dangerously depleted. According to the latest government data, the SPR sits at just <a href="https://ycharts.com/indicators/us_ending_stocks_of_crude_oil_in_the_strategic_petroleum_reserve">over 400 million barrels</a> — barely more than half full. That’s the lowest level in decades. And thanks to Biden’s manipulation, we’re entering this dangerous period with far less of a safety net.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was created to give America breathing room during times of global chaos. Joe Biden used it as a campaign slush fund. He drained it to temporarily hide the consequences of his anti-American energy agenda, hoping voters wouldn’t notice the long-term damage. Now, as the world grows more unstable, America is weaker, more exposed, and less prepared — all because one president thought his poll numbers mattered more than the nation&#8217;s energy security.
Joe Biden mortgaged America’s oil security and Left our strategic gas tank dangerously low. The recklessness is breathtaking.
No wonder it’s an anniversary the Left would rather forget.
* * *
Larry Behrens is the Communications Director for Power The Future and is the author of the book, “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sabotage-Surrendered-American-Energy-Independence/dp/B0C87HHRJR/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3DVTZR49E34ON&amp;keywords=sabotage+book+larry+behrens&amp;qid=1697814823&amp;sprefix=sabotage+la%2Caps%2C119&amp;sr=8-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sabotage: How Joe Biden Surrendered American Energy Independence</a>.” He’s also appeared on Fox News, Newsmax and One America News. You can find him on Twitter at @larrybehrens or email at <a href="mailto:larry@powerthefuture.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">larry@powerthefuture.com</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Strategic Petroleum Reserves Release Ordered By President Biden To Curb Rises Gas Prices

Running On Empty: How Biden Drained America’s Gas Tank

Running On Empty: How Biden Drained America's Gas Tank

Biden Administration

Energy

Oil and Gas

Oil companies

Opinion

On Tuesday, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden administration</a> 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&#8217;s November election while dealing with the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/my-goodness-graphs-show-how-trump-dominates-biden-when-household-wealth-gets-hit-by-inflation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scourge of inflation</a>, a fact that Republican officials noted in reacting to the decision.
&#8220;President Biden is yet again using America’s emergency fuel reserves to cover for his disastrous inflationary policies in an election year,&#8221; Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) <a href="https://x.com/SenMikeLee/status/1792988544031494355" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a post to X.
Stores from the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve (NGSR) will be sold in a &#8220;competitive bidding process&#8221; to help &#8220;lower costs for American families and consumers&#8221; in the run-up to Independence Day, per the Energy Department.
&#8220;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,&#8221; she added.
Not mentioned in the press release was how the United States, <a href="https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=23&amp;t=10#:~:text=In%202023%2C%20U.S.%20finished%20motor,U.S.%20gallons%20in%20a%20barrel)." target="_blank" rel="noopener">as recently as 2023</a>, was consuming an average of roughly 8.94 million barrels of gasoline each day.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1700760801843000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2PQrVSrJfhxNb4LcARqniG">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
The Obama administration created the NGSR <a href="https://www.energy.gov/ceser/northeast-gasoline-supply-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in response to Superstorm Sandy</a>, 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 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/strategic-petroleum-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Strategic Petroleum Reserve</a> (SPR) in an attempt to stabilize global oil markets and <a href="https://rollcall.com/2022/10/19/biden-to-announce-more-oil-reserve-sales-to-reduce-gas-prices/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">combat rising gasoline prices</a>, some critics argued the president has placed the country at risk.
&#8220;Joe Biden’s failed Far Left Democrats anti-American energy agenda continues to compromise our national security,&#8221; said the X account for House Republicans, <a href="https://x.com/HouseGOP/status/1792987816558735636" target="_blank" rel="noopener">responding</a> to news of the planned NGSR release.
&#8220;This is ridiculous,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/RepFeenstra/status/1792988417216655574" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA). &#8220;Instead of depleting our oil reserves, the President should support American energy production.&#8221;
He added, &#8220;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.&#8221;

President Joe Biden

Biden Admin Plans Election Year Summer Sale Of Gasoline From Reserves

Biden Administration Plans Election Year Summer Sale Of Gasoline From Reserves

Memorial Day

U.S.

Despite the best efforts of the Biden administration to move toward green alternatives, oil remains a vital commodity to not only the American economy but also global civilization in general. Easy access to the substance can be the deciding factor between a country&#8217;s prosperity and its descent into chaos and poverty.
On Tuesday, the Biden administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-nixes-plan-to-help-refill-strategic-petroleum-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that it had canceled plans to help refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, citing a rise in crude oil prices to $85 a barrel. The government had previously announced in March that it would solicit up to 3 million barrels for a facility in Louisiana as part of its efforts to resupply the SPR.
The Energy Department claimed to be “keeping the taxpayer’s interest at the forefront.” The agency said, “We will not award the current solicitations for the Bayou Choctaw SPR site and will solicit available capacity as market conditions allow,” adding, “We will continue to monitor market dynamics.”
In an attempt to stimulate skyrocketing gas prices in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Biden administration <a href="https://rollcall.com/2022/10/19/biden-to-announce-more-oil-reserve-sales-to-reduce-gas-prices/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">initiated</a> a 180-million-barrel <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/10/18/fact-sheet-president-biden-to-announce-new-actions-to-strengthen-u-s-energy-security-encourage-production-and-bring-down-costs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">drawdown</a> of the SPR in 2022, decreasing the reserve to its <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/02/biden-strategic-petroleum-reserve-oil-levels" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lowest level in decades</a>. Since that drawdown, Biden has slowly purchased more oil, around 32 million barrels, but the reserve is still well below where it was before Biden took office.
<div id="attachment_719633" style="width: 779px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-719633" class="size-large wp-image-719633" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-1434804700-769x576.jpg" alt="FREEPORT, TEXAS - OCTOBER 19: In an aerial view, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve storage at the Bryan Mound site is seen on October 19, 2022 in Freeport, Texas. US President Joe Biden is planning to release fifteen million barrels of oil from the nation's emergency reserves in an effort to continue curving gas prices around the country. The deal completes Biden's March initiative to release 180 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)" width="769" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-1434804700-769x576.jpg 769w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-1434804700-300x225.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-1434804700-768x575.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-1434804700.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 769px) 100vw, 769px" />Brandon Bell/Getty Images</div>
The SPR currently stands at <a href="https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/supply/weekly/pdf/table1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">363.6 million barrels</a> according to recent data, down from around <a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-inflation-business-opec-climate-and-environment-cd15107ef2e0bb49db9165eb190b450c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">600 million</a> barrels in late 2021 and nearly half the <a href="https://www.energy.gov/ceser/spr-quick-facts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">authorized storage capacity</a> of 714 million barrels.
Though the administration&#8217;s decision on the SPR was received passively by the mainstream media, it&#8217;s actually a pretty massive deal for those who remember why it was created in the first place.
The SPR, “the world’s largest supply of emergency crude oil,&#8221; was established in 1975 specifically to &#8220;reduce the impact of disruptions in supplies of petroleum products&#8221; in the wake of the oil crisis of the mid-1970s, the Energy Department <a href="https://www.energy.gov/ceser/strategic-petroleum-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">notes</a>.
In retaliation for supporting Israel during the Yom Kippur War in October 1973, the Arab-dominated OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Arab-oil-embargo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">imposed</a> an embargo on oil exports to the United States. Within a year, the price for a barrel of oil in the U.S. quadrupled, and the nation suffered its first oil shortage since World War II.
In response, the federal government lowered the national speed limit to 55 mph in order to reduce oil consumption, several states <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/05/13/gas-shortages-1970s/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">imposed</a> rationing schemes, and gas lines <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2012/11/10/164792293/gas-lines-evoke-memories-oil-crises-in-the-1970s#:~:text=During%20two%20separate%20oil%20crises,they%20tried%20to%20fill%20up." target="_blank" rel="noopener">became</a> common. One common scheme to control gas consumption was to only allow cars with license plates that ended in an odd number to refuel on an odd day of the month, and vice versa for cars with license plates ending in an even number.
<div id="attachment_719631" style="width: 876px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-719631" class="size-large wp-image-719631" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-155367107-866x576.jpg" alt="Drivers queue for fuel at a petrol station near Trenton, New Jersey, USA, circa 1974. The country has been hit by worldwide fuel shortages caused by the oil embargo imposed by the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC). (Photo by Frederic Lewis/Archive Photos/Getty Images)" width="866" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-155367107-866x576.jpg 866w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-155367107-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-155367107-768x511.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-155367107.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 866px) 100vw, 866px" />Frederic Lewis/Archive Photos/Getty Images</div>
The U.S. economy <a href="https://www.csis.org/analysis/arab-oil-embargo-40-years-later" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shrank</a> by an estimated 2.5% because of the crisis. Though the embargo was ended after negotiations between the U.S. and OPEC in March 1974, the surge in prices and unemployment contributed to the stagflation the plagued the U.S. economy for the rest of the decade.
After it was established in 1975, the SPR was quickly stocked throughout the 1980s, remaining relatively stable during the next three decades and even reaching a high of over 715 million barrels around 2010.
The oil crisis also motivated the government to encourage more domestic oil production, <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/1973-energy-crisis-definition-5222090" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reducing</a> the nation&#8217;s reliance on OPEC oil from around 70% of total oil imports in the early &#8217;70s to around 16% <a href="https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=727&amp;t=6#:~:text=Crude%20oil%20imports%20of%20about,%2C%20and%20U.S.%20Virgin%20Islands)." target="_blank" rel="noopener">today</a>. The U.S. also sources a majority of its oil imports from Canada. Still, the U.S. imports over 8 million barrels of oil per day from around the world, <a href="https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=727&amp;t=6#:~:text=Crude%20oil%20imports%20of%20about,%2C%20and%20U.S.%20Virgin%20Islands)." target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Energy Information Administration, and as shown by the global supply chain disruptions seen during the pandemic, global events can still wreak havoc on domestic prices.
The SPR was not intended to be used as the president&#8217;s oil piggy bank — broken open to drive down gas prices and shore up his party&#8217;s chances in the upcoming midterms. It&#8217;s there to stave off the gas lines that marked the 1973 oil crisis and keep the military machine going in the event the nation is cut off from overseas oil.
A full-scale conflict in the Middle East — home to major oil exporters like Iraq and Saudi Arabia — or a war between the U.S. and China in the Pacific would certainly sow discord in global trade. If global tensions continue to escalate and the SPR remains understocked, the president threatens to leave the nation disastrously short of a critical product for a significant length of time.

Remember The ’70s Oil Crisis: Biden’s Reluctance To Restock America’s Oil Reserves Should Be A Massive Red Flag

Remember The '70s Oil Crisis: Biden's Reluctance To Restock America's Oil Reserves Should Be A Massive Red Flag

Middle East

OPEC

Readers Pass

White House Press Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/karine-jean-pierre" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Karine Jean-Pierre</a> appeared to short-circuit during Wednesday&#8217;s briefing, struggling to come up with an answer when pressed on President Joe Biden&#8217;s decision not to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as previously promised.
Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy prefaced his question with a reminder that Biden had promised to refill the SPR, claiming that he was only draining it to compensate for the spike in gas prices that he had blamed on Russian President Vladimir Putin and his February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
&#8220;First, the — so, you guys started draining the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to try and help with ‘the Putin Price Hike’ a few years ago. Said you were going to refill it. But now it doesn&#8217;t seem like that&#8217;s happening. Why?&#8221; Doocy asked.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
DOOCY TIME: “First, the — so, you guys started draining the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to try and help with ‘the Putin Price Hike’ a few years ago. Said You were going to refill it. But now it doesn&#39;t seem like that&#39;s happening. Why?”
KJP: “Well, from — I believe the Department… <a href="https://t.co/K5v77241lM">pic.twitter.com/K5v77241lM</a>
&mdash; Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) <a href="https://twitter.com/CurtisHouck/status/1775580441791103014?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Jean-Pierre delivered a halting response, shifting responsibility to the Department of Energy and suggesting that the issue was not so much whether or not it would be refilled, but how that would eventually come about.
&#8220;Well, from — I believe the Department of Energy is — is responsible for — for that particular component — is refilling — refilling that, so I would refer to the Department of Energy. I know there are certain components to that and how they were going to move forward and refilling — refilling it. Uh — I — they would have had more specifics on that for you,&#8221; she said.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-nixes-plan-to-help-refill-strategic-petroleum-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reports broke</a> earlier on Wednesday stating that the Biden administration would not be refilling the SPR as originally planned, citing the high cost of oil as a barrier to getting that done.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The Department of Energy has canceled its latest tender for crude oil for the replenishment of the strategic petroleum reserve after oil prices moved higher than the DoE is comfortable with.
Last month, the DoE purchased 2.8 million barrels at a price of $81 per barrel, which… <a href="https://t.co/PDu7IwP7or">pic.twitter.com/PDu7IwP7or</a>
&mdash; Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) <a href="https://twitter.com/WallStreetSilv/status/1775534236646211929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;We will not award the current solicitations for the Bayou Choctaw SPR site and will solicit available capacity as market conditions allow,&#8221; the Department of Energy said. &#8220;We will continue to monitor market dynamics.&#8221;
Daniel Turner, founder and executive director for Power The Future, released a statement on the move, saying, &#8220;[President] Joe Biden drained the SPR for political reasons, cut our domestic production for his climate agenda, and now he’s leaving our critical reserve more vulnerable because he’s incompetent. As a result, Americans are paying more at the pump, more at the grocery store and our SPR is less full during a time of rising turmoil in the Middle East.&#8221;

White House Press Briefing Held By Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre

Karine Jean-Pierre Scrambles When Asked Why Biden Isn’t Moving Ahead With Plan To Refill Oil Reserves

Karine Jean-Pierre Scrambles When Asked Why Biden Isn't Moving Ahead With Plan To Refill Oil Reserves

Joe Biden

Karine Jean-Pierre

Media

Peter Doocy

Politics

Ukraine-Russia War

Vladimir Putin

On Wednesday, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden administration</a> announced that it was stepping back from a plan to refill the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/strategic-petroleum-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Strategic Petroleum Reserve</a> (SPR) following a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-putin-biden-climate-and-environment-government-politics-7fa1a7e4c1d2196856566f9401d8369b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">significant drawdown</a> in recent years.
Bloomberg News <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-03/us-cancels-latest-oil-reserve-refill-plan-amid-high-prices" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> the decision marks a reversal from last month&#8217;s announcement to solicit <a href="https://www.energy.gov/ceser/articles/us-department-energy-announces-two-solicitations-purchase-oil-strategic-petroleum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">up to 3 million barrels</a> to a Louisiana site in August and September. It also coincides with crude oil prices reaching their highest level in months as <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/02/oil-prices-climb-to-five-month-high-on-escalating-middle-east-tensions.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">geopolitical tensions</a> increase.
The Energy Department claimed to be &#8220;keeping the taxpayer&#8217;s interest at the forefront.&#8221; The agency said, &#8220;We will not award the current solicitations for the Bayou Choctaw SPR site and will solicit available capacity as market conditions allow,&#8221; adding, &#8220;We will continue to monitor market dynamics.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2022-09/strategic%20petroleum%20reserve%20factsheet.2_1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Started in 1975,</a> the SPR is &#8220;the world&#8217;s largest supply of emergency crude oil … established primarily to reduce the impact of disruptions in supplies of petroleum products and to carry out obligations of the United States under the international energy program,&#8221; according to <a href="https://www.energy.gov/ceser/strategic-petroleum-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Energy Department</a>.
The SPR plummeted to its <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/02/biden-strategic-petroleum-reserve-oil-levels" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lowest level in decades</a> in 2022 after the Biden administration announced a 180-million-barrel <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/10/18/fact-sheet-president-biden-to-announce-new-actions-to-strengthen-u-s-energy-security-encourage-production-and-bring-down-costs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">drawdown</a> in an attempt to stabilize global oil markets and <a href="https://rollcall.com/2022/10/19/biden-to-announce-more-oil-reserve-sales-to-reduce-gas-prices/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">combat rising gasoline prices</a>.
Recent data showed the SPR at <a href="https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/supply/weekly/pdf/table1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">363.6 million barrels</a> — far below the <a href="https://www.energy.gov/ceser/spr-quick-facts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">authorized storage capacity</a> of 714 million barrels — after it topped <a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-inflation-business-opec-climate-and-environment-cd15107ef2e0bb49db9165eb190b450c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">600 million barrels</a> as recently as late 2021.
U.S. oil futures rose to $85 per barrel for the first time since October on Tuesday, which MarketWatch <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-oil-benchmark-tops-85-a-barrel-as-middle-east-tensions-escalate-8d5dd06a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attributed</a> to concerns about a direct conflict between Israel and Iran following a strike in Syria that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/major-escalation-alleged-israeli-airstrike-kills-top-iranian-general-in-syria" target="_blank" rel="noopener">killed</a> a top Iranian commander. Also mentioned in the report were Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil facilities.
The Biden administration has made <a href="https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-announces-repurchase-oil-strategic-petroleum-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declarations</a> since late 2022 pledging to work toward repurchasing crude oil for the SPR.
Just last week, the Energy Department said it <a href="https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/us-to-buy-oil-for-spr-oil-at-above-$79-target-price-in-latest-round" target="_blank" rel="noopener">purchased</a> 2.8 million barrels for a site in Texas despite the cost being $81 dollars a barrel, $2 over the U.S. target price, making for a total of 32.3 million barrels of oil brought for the SPR at an <a href="https://www.energy.gov/ceser/articles/biden-harris-administration-continues-secure-good-deal-taxpayers-replenishment-6#:~:text=To%20date%2C%20DOE%20has%20purchased,a%20good%20deal%20for%20taxpayers." target="_blank" rel="noopener">average price of $76.98</a>.
The news on Wednesday that the agency was backing away from the solicitation for 3 million barrels meant for the Louisiana site in Bayou Choctaw drew fresh criticism.
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“It’s pure insanity to watch the Biden Administration cut American oil production and then claim they can’t refill our critical reserve because of the price,” Daniel Turner, founder and executive director for Power The Future, said in a statement, <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/biden-admin-cancels-plan-to-refill-emergency-oil-reserve-amid-high-prices">according</a> to Fox Business.
&#8220;[President] Joe Biden drained the SPR for political reasons, cut our domestic production for his climate agenda, and now he’s leaving our critical reserve more vulnerable because he’s incompetent,&#8221; Turner added. &#8220;As a result, Americans are paying more at the pump, more at the grocery store and our SPR is less full during a time of rising turmoil in the Middle East.&#8221;

Biden Admin Nixes Plan To Help Refill Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Department of Energy

The Senate on Thursday passed an amendment to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-passes-military-spending-bill-with-conservative-amendments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Defense Authorization Act</a> (NDAA) that would ban sales of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to China, North Korea, Iran, and Russia.
The effort, which passed the Senate 85-12, was spearheaded by Senator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ted-cruz" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ted Cruz</a> (R-TX) and West Virginia Senator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-manchin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Manchin</a> (D-WV). Under President Joe Biden, the SPR has been <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/us-emergency-oil-supply-shrinks-40-year-low-biden-keeps-tapping-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">drained</a> to 40-year lows.
“We know China has been amassing the largest stockpile of crude in the world. Nevertheless, last year, the United States sold off part of our reserves to China. I have been working with Senator Manchin to prohibit such inexplicably reckless moves in a bipartisan way. Our amendment prevents the federal government from selling oil from the strategic petroleum reserve to China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea. We should not be selling our emergency oil reserves to our adversaries,” Cruz <a href="https://www.cruz.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senate-passes-cruz-amendment-prohibiting-sale-of-strategic-petroleum-reserve-oil-to-china-russia-iran-and-north-korea" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
Manchin, a critic of the Biden administration’s energy policy, also warned about American oil going to China.
“Following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. ramped up production and exports to help meet global demand. It had been devastating to the world. China, on the other hand, stockpiled oil and held back refinery production and while China was stockpiling, one of its state-owned companies purchased over 1.4 million barrels from the United States of America, the people of our great country, from our own stock of reserves. That’s what we’re trying to stop,” the West Virginia Democrat said.
In January, the House <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republican-led-house-votes-to-ban-oil-reserve-sales-to-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> a similar measure. Republicans at the time were joined by over 100 Democrats after Republicans raised concerns last year about the Biden administration selling <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/release/comer-mace-bidens-sale-of-u-s-oil-reserves-to-china-may-support-russias-invasion-of-ukraine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nearly a million barrels</a> from the reserve to a Chinese state-controlled crude giant.
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As part of a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/10/18/fact-sheet-president-biden-to-announce-new-actions-to-strengthen-u-s-energy-security-encourage-production-and-bring-down-costs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">180-million-barrel drawdown</a> through which the government sought to stabilize global oil markets and <a href="https://rollcall.com/2022/10/19/biden-to-announce-more-oil-reserve-sales-to-reduce-gas-prices/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">combat rising gasoline prices</a>, the Biden administration announced in July 2022 a number of contracts for the purchase of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Among those contracts to 14 companies was one for about 950,000 barrels awarded to Unipec America, a subsidiary of Communist Party-owned Sinopec Corp.
&#8220;The original intent of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was to ensure that America had sufficient oil reserves in the event of an emergency,&#8221; Cruz <a href="https://freebeacon.com/politics/senate-passes-bipartisan-measure-to-bar-us-from-selling-oil-reserves-to-china/?utm_source=actengage&amp;utm_campaign=FreedomMail&amp;utm_medium=email" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Thursday. &#8220;We are unnecessarily and dangerously undermining our national security in any instance that we sell any part of this stockpile to the Chinese Communist Party or any company under its control.&#8221;

Golden yellow oil rig energy industry machine oil crude In the sunset backlighting

Senate Moves To Block Sale Of Oil From Strategic Petroleum Reserve To China, Iran

China

Global Politics

Joe Manchin

NDAA

Senate

Ted Cruz

Canary CEO Dan Eberhart remarked that President <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> missed a “golden window” to replenish the depleted <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/strategic-petroleum-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Strategic Petroleum Reserve</a> when oil prices were reasonably low.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/opec" target="_blank" rel="noopener">OPEC</a>, an economic bloc constituted by Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and other countries with a large share of worldwide oil production, recently issued an unexpected <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-the-president-has-done-has-worked-jean-pierre-claims-biden-gas-price-policies-will-lessen-impact-of-latest-opec-move" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reduction</a> in output, causing oil prices across the planet to soar. Brent crude, the benchmark for fuel drilled in the Atlantic Ocean, increased from $79 per barrel on March 31 to $85 per barrel on April 11.
Eberhart commented in an <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/energy/oil-ceo-calls-biden-out-missed-golden-window-replenish-petroleum-reserve-really-bad" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with Fox Business that “the train has left the station” with respect to Biden replenishing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a stock of emergency crude oil intended to minimize the impact of fuel supply disruptions, since the price of oil is unlikely to fall below $80 per barrel for the foreseeable future.
&#8220;I can&#8217;t stress enough how missing the window to replace the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is just really bad for our national security and really bad for consumers. The administration has left us completely unprepared,&#8221; the oilfield services executive commented. &#8220;They had an excellent opportunity when the price was somewhat low and they did nothing. It seems to me we definitely have a Goldilocks scenario for oil exiting 2023 at $100 per barrel or higher. I think that&#8217;s inevitable at this point.&#8221;
Democratic lawmakers previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-could-refill-strategic-oil-reserve-at-80-per-barrel-democrats-blocked-trump-when-oil-was-24" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticized</a> former President Donald Trump for attempting to purchase oil at $24 per barrel in order to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Congress blocked the measure amid broader stimulus package negotiations; Senate Majority Chuck Schumer (D-NY) boasted that his colleagues had nixed a “bailout for big oil.”
Reporters <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-the-president-has-done-has-worked-jean-pierre-claims-biden-gas-price-policies-will-lessen-impact-of-latest-opec-move" target="_blank" rel="noopener">questioned</a> White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre last week about the administration’s response to the move from OPEC, which comes ahead of the busy summer travel months. Jean-Pierre contended that the administration would do “everything that we can to make sure that we lower costs and meet the American people where they are,” asserting that policies enacted by Biden have previously mitigated increases in fuel prices.
Biden has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/keystone-pipeline-dead-killed-by-biden-thousands-of-jobs-lost" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nixed</a> expansions to the Keystone XL pipeline and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-administration-severely-cuts-back-on-oil-and-gas-leases" target="_blank" rel="noopener">slowed</a> federal oil lease approvals in the two years since he entered the White House. He meanwhile <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/20/paris-climate-agreement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">returned</a> the United States to the Paris Climate Agreement, an international treaty that calls for slashing worldwide emissions in half by 2030, as he encourages a broader transition toward renewable energy.
Eberhart also criticized the administration’s policies for decreasing productivity in his industry. &#8220;We&#8217;ve got a good economy, we&#8217;ve got a high oil price, and yet we&#8217;re seeing production lower than it was during the Trump administration” he continued. &#8220;Biden has slowed down pipelines, has canceled the Keystone pipeline and others, has canceled the offshore lease program for four new drilling sites. And it&#8217;s just made it very, very difficult to drill, and just continues to throw wrenches and sand in the gears of the oil industry. Our production, our drilling is not what it once was. The rig count is also lower. And this is all just constraining supply, and it&#8217;s silently sowing the seeds for the next oil price spike which ultimately will be bad for consumers.”

President Biden Returns To The White House From Pennsylvania

Biden Missed ‘Golden Window’ To Restock Strategic Petroleum Reserves He Depleted, Oil CEO Says

Biden Missed 'Golden Window' To Restock Strategic Petroleum Reserves He Depleted

The Republican-led House passed on Thursday legislation banning the United States from selling and exporting crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/communist-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China</a>.
More than 100 Democrats joined their GOP counterparts, who raised concerns last year about the Biden administration selling <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/release/comer-mace-bidens-sale-of-u-s-oil-reserves-to-china-may-support-russias-invasion-of-ukraine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nearly a million barrels</a> from the reserve to a Chinese state-controlled crude giant.
The final tally for the &#8220;Protecting America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act&#8221; was 331-97. Six members did not vote, <a href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202331" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to the House clerk</a>. Energy and Commerce Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), who introduced the bill, <a href="https://mcmorris.house.gov/posts/mcmorris-rodgers-leads-passage-of-h-r-22-to-prevent-the-sale-of-spr-oil-to-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called it</a> &#8220;one of the most bipartisan votes on an energy bill in many years and multiple congresses.&#8221;
Despite receiving support from both sides of the aisle, the bill is not expected to be taken up by the Senate under the leadership of the Democrats, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/house-votes-ban-sales-strategic-petroleum-reserve-china/story?id=96397178" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to ABC News</a>. Still, the vote Thursday was one of two bipartisan acts focused on Beijing during this fledgling session of Congress under the leadership of Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), following a vote Tuesday in which <a href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202326" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nearly 150 Democrats joined Republicans</a> to establish the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.
<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/22/text" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Under the legislation</a> passed Thursday, the energy secretary, &#8220;[n]otwithstanding any other provision of law,&#8221; is prohibited from drawing down or selling petroleum products from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve &#8220;to any entity that is under the ownership, control, or influence of&#8221; China&#8217;s Communist Party &#8220;except on the condition that such petroleum products will not be exported to the People’s Republic of China.&#8221;
According to the <a href="https://www.energy.gov/ceser/strategic-petroleum-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Energy Department website</a>, the SPR is &#8220;the world&#8217;s largest supply of emergency crude oil … established primarily to reduce the impact of disruptions in supplies of petroleum products and to carry out obligations of the United States under the international energy program.&#8221;
As part of a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/10/18/fact-sheet-president-biden-to-announce-new-actions-to-strengthen-u-s-energy-security-encourage-production-and-bring-down-costs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">180-million-barrell drawdown</a> through which the government sought to stabilize global oil markets and <a href="https://rollcall.com/2022/10/19/biden-to-announce-more-oil-reserve-sales-to-reduce-gas-prices/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">combat rising gasoline prices</a>, the Biden administration announced in July 2022 a number of contracts for the purchase of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Among those contracts to 14 companies was one for about 950,000 barrels awarded to Unipec America, a subsidiary of Communist Party-owned Sinopec Corp.
<a href="https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-announces-contract-awards-additional-crude-oil-sales-strategic-petroleum-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Energy Department said</a> these sales were meant to &#8220;address the significant global supply disruption caused by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war on Ukraine, act as a bridge for domestic production to increase, and help stabilize volatile energy costs for American families.&#8221; But in a letter sent a letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, House Republicans <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/release/comer-mace-bidens-sale-of-u-s-oil-reserves-to-china-may-support-russias-invasion-of-ukraine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raised concerns</a> about U.S. oil possibly being used by China to support Russia&#8217;s invasion of Ukraine and warned of the potential for Hunter Biden, the president&#8217;s adult son, receiving money from the deal because of the <a href="https://freebeacon.com/national-security/how-chinese-companies-linked-to-hunter-biden-could-bail-out-putin/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">financial links</a> between his private equity firm and the Chinese energy sector.
The Energy Department <a href="https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-announces-repurchase-oil-strategic-petroleum-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced in December 2022</a> an effort to repurchase crude oil for the SPR, but Republicans remained distressed by Biden&#8217;s strategy.
“To cover up his failed policies driving our energy and inflation crisis, President Biden is draining our nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserves at an alarming rate,&#8221; McMorris Rodgers said in her statement Thursday. &#8220;America’s SPR — once the world’s largest stockpile — have been depleted to the lowest levels since 1983. To date, President Biden has released more from the SPR than all U.S. presidents in history combined. Millions of barrels of that oil have gone to China, which now has the world’s largest government-controlled stockpile of oil. Draining our strategic reserves for political purposes and selling it to China is a significant threat to our national and energy security.&#8221;
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), the top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, voted against the bill. &#8220;If Republicans were serious about addressing the issue they would have brought forward a bill that banned all exports of oil — crude oil to China,&#8221; <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?525320-1/house-session" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pallone said on the House floor</a> Thursday. He added: &#8220;If we truly want to address China using American oil to build its reserves, let’s actually take a serious look at that, rather than skirt around the issue because Republicans are scared of Big Oil’s wrath.&#8221;

Cathy McMorris Rodgers

Republican-Led House Votes To Ban Oil Reserve Sales To China

Communist China

Congress

U.S. House of Representatives

The <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">White House</a> announced on Tuesday that President Joe Biden would release 15 million barrels of <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/oil-and-gas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">oil</a> from the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/strategic-petroleum-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Strategic Petroleum Reserve</a>.
The national average price for gasoline is currently $3.85 per gallon, according to <a href="https://gasprices.aaa.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from AAA, marking a nearly 62% increase since Biden assumed office at the beginning of last year. In response to the rising prices, Biden announced in March that his administration would release 180 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a stock of emergency crude oil created to manage supply disruptions in energy markets. Transactions for the final 15 million barrels will clear by the end of December.
“Global crude oil supply flows remain a challenge, due in large part to the ongoing instability caused by Russia’s actions in Ukraine,” the White House said in a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/10/18/fact-sheet-president-biden-to-announce-new-actions-to-strengthen-u-s-energy-security-encourage-production-and-bring-down-costs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “The President is prepared to authorize significant additional sales in coming months if conditions require.”
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West Texas Intermediate, the American benchmark for crude oil, was nearly $85 per barrel as of Wednesday morning after a decline on Tuesday afternoon. The White House noted that officials “will not hesitate” to use the Strategic Petroleum Reserve or other tools “to shore up the global supply of energy, support domestic inventory levels, and bring prices down for Americans.”
Biden plans to repurchase crude oil at prices that could range between $67 per barrel and $72 per barrel. According to the White House, the move will “protect taxpayers and help create certainty around future demand for crude oil.” Two years ago, however, former President Donald Trump attempted to stabilize the energy sector by filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve with oil priced at $24 per barrel, a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-could-refill-strategic-oil-reserve-at-80-per-barrel-democrats-blocked-trump-when-oil-was-24" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rock-bottom rate</a> that occurred as a result of worldwide lockdowns. Democrats blocked the measure amid broader stimulus package negotiations.
Biden has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-could-refill-strategic-oil-reserve-at-80-per-barrel-democrats-blocked-trump-when-oil-was-24" target="_blank" rel="noopener">presided over a decrease</a> in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve from 638 million barrels to 409 million barrels, according to <a href="https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&amp;s=WCSSTUS1&amp;f=W" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Energy Information Administration. When one reporter questioned White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre this week on why the release was necessary since gas prices are trending downward, as the administration asserts, she <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-press-secretary-claims-americans-are-saving-on-gas-under-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> that Americans would receive “a little bit of breathing room” as a result of the policy.
“President Biden has said for months how he is committed to doing everything that he can in his power to address Putin’s price hike,” Jean-Pierre said. “He has said this on almost every speech that you’ve heard him talk about when it comes to gas prices and what the American people are seeing and feeling at the pump. And he’s been delivering on that.”
Although the release is primarily intended to cut domestic energy prices, at least 5 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/stunning-amount-of-oil-released-by-biden-found-its-way-to-china-other-countries" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found their way</a> to nations such as India, the Netherlands, and Italy, as well as a Chinese oil company with <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-sold-nearly-1-million-barrels-of-oil-to-chinese-state-owned-company-tied-to-hunter-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">links</a> to Hunter Biden.
The economy and inflation are salient issues among voters preparing to cast ballots in the midterm elections, with 84% considering the former to be a top factor on their minds. The Republicans lead the Democrats by a 16% margin and a 19% margin with respect to trust on handling the economy and inflation, respectively, according to a recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-midterm-poll-spells-bad-news-for-democrats-on-the-economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poll</a> from ABC News and The Washington Post.
The government of Saudi Arabia <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bidens-threat-after-saudis-nix-midterm-friendly-oil-plan-looks-like-quid-pro-quo-says-shapiro" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released a statement</a> last week claiming that Biden had asked the kingdom to avoid a decrease in oil production until after the American elections. Earlier this month, Biden reportedly began preparing to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-to-ease-sanctions-on-socialist-venezuela-releases-maduros-convicted-narco-trafficker-nephews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ease sanctions</a> on Venezuela so that Chevron, an American oil company, could resume production in the socialist nation.

Biden Announces Release Of More Oil From Strategic Reserve Ahead Of Midterms

Economy

White House

The <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">White House</a> plans to refill the nation’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/strategic-petroleum-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">oil reserves</a> once prices fall below $80 per barrel, according to a Tuesday <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-13/biden-officials-mull-buying-oil-at-around-80-to-refill-reserves?leadSource=uverify%20wall">report</a> from Bloomberg.
President Joe Biden has addressed rising <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/gas-prices" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gas prices</a> by releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — a stock of emergency crude oil <a href="https://www.energy.gov/fecm/strategic-petroleum-reserve#:~:text=The%20Strategic%20Petroleum%20Reserve%20(SPR,under%20the%20international%20energy%20program.">created</a> to “reduce the impact of disruptions in supplies of petroleum products.” Though reserves in January 2021 were as high as 638 million barrels, reserves have <a href="https://ycharts.com/indicators/us_ending_stocks_of_crude_oil_in_the_strategic_petroleum_reserve#:~:text=US%20Crude%20Oil%20in%20the%20Strategic%20Petroleum%20Reserve%20Stocks%20is,25.78%25%20from%20one%20year%20ago.">fallen</a> to 434 million barrels as of last week — a level not seen since 1984.
Multiple people familiar with the Biden administration’s deliberations told Bloomberg that officials might begin refilling the reserves once crude prices dip below $80 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate, the American benchmark for crude oil, was more than $85 per barrel as of Thursday morning, approaching levels seen at the beginning of the year.
Another <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-13/biden-may-buy-oil-just-below-80-democrats-stymied-trump-at-24">report</a> from Bloomberg, however, noted that former President Donald Trump attempted to stabilize the petroleum industry in early 2020 by filling the reserve with oil priced at $24 per barrel — a rock-bottom rate that occurred as a result of worldwide lockdowns. Democrats blocked the measure amid broader stimulus package negotiations, with Senate Majority Chuck Schumer (D-NY) boasting that his colleagues had nixed a “bailout for big oil.”
The national average price of gasoline was $2.38 per gallon when President Joe Biden assumed office, according to <a href="https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&amp;s=EMM_EPMR_PTE_NUS_DPG&amp;f=W">data</a> from the Energy Information Administration, and increased to $3.53 per gallon by the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Prices surpassed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/gas-prices">$5.00 per gallon</a> in early June before subsiding to $3.70 per gallon as of Thursday, according to <a href="https://gasprices.aaa.com/">data</a> from AAA.
The White House previously asserted that the release of strategic petroleum “will provide a historic amount of supply to serve as bridge until the end of the year when domestic production ramps up.” Nevertheless, at least five million barrels have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/stunning-amount-of-oil-released-by-biden-found-its-way-to-china-other-countries">found their way</a> to nations such as India, the Netherlands, and Italy, as well as a Chinese oil company with <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-sold-nearly-1-million-barrels-of-oil-to-chinese-state-owned-company-tied-to-hunter-biden">links</a> to Hunter Biden.
Beyond <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/keystone-pipeline-dead-killed-by-biden-thousands-of-jobs-lost">nixing</a> expansions to the Keystone XL pipeline and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-administration-severely-cuts-back-on-oil-and-gas-leases">slowing</a> federal oil leases to a crawl, Biden <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/20/paris-climate-agreement/">returned</a> the United States to the Paris Climate Agreement — an international treaty signed in 2015 that calls for slashing worldwide emissions in half by 2030. Energy policy from the Biden administration has accordingly centered upon incentives for green power. The Inflation Reduction Act, for example, allocated $369 billion to climate measures.
However, business leaders — including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon — have called for the United States to increase oil production. “We should focus on climate. The problem with that is because of high oil and gas prices, the world is turning back on their coal plants,” he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jpmorgan-ceo-scoffs-at-climate-crazy-energy-policies-gives-his-take-on-woke-capitalism">remarked</a> last month. “It is dirtier. Why can’t we get it through our thick skulls, that if you want to solve climate, it is not against climate for America to boost more oil and gas?”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who runs the world’s largest electric vehicle producer, cautioned that a pivot to renewables would likely take decades. “Realistically I think we need to use oil and gas in the short term, because otherwise civilization will crumble,” he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/civilization-will-crumble-elon-musk-issues-dire-warning-about-rapid-shift-to-green-energy">told</a> reporters. “One of the biggest challenges the world has ever faced is the transition to sustainable energy and to a sustainable economy. That will take some decades to complete.”

Donald Trump, Joe Biden

Biden Could Refill Strategic Oil Reserve At $80 Per Barrel. Democrats Blocked Trump When Oil Was $24.

Biden May Refill Strategic Petroleum Reserve At $80 Per Barrel

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/strategic-petroleum-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Strategic Petroleum Reserve</a> levels have reached their lowest levels in four decades as autumn and winter weather conditions approach, according to data from the Energy Information Administration.
President <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> has responded to rising <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/gas-prices" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gas prices</a> by releasing one million barrels of oil per day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves — a stock of emergency crude oil <a href="https://www.energy.gov/fecm/strategic-petroleum-reserve#:~:text=The%20Strategic%20Petroleum%20Reserve%20(SPR,under%20the%20international%20energy%20program.">created</a> to “reduce the impact of disruptions in supplies of petroleum products.” Though reserves in January 2021 were as high as 638 million barrels, reserves have <a href="https://ycharts.com/indicators/us_ending_stocks_of_crude_oil_in_the_strategic_petroleum_reserve#:~:text=US%20Crude%20Oil%20in%20the%20Strategic%20Petroleum%20Reserve%20Stocks%20is,25.78%25%20from%20one%20year%20ago.">fallen</a> to 461 million barrels as of August 2022 — a level <a href="https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&amp;s=MCSSTUS1&amp;f=M">not seen</a> since March 1985.
“The scale of this release is unprecedented: the world has never had a release of oil reserves at this 1 million per day rate for this length of time,” the White House said in a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/03/31/fact-sheet-president-bidens-plan-to-respond-to-putins-price-hike-at-the-pump/">statement</a> earlier this year. “This record release will provide a historic amount of supply to serve as bridge until the end of the year when domestic production ramps up.”
At least five million barrels have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/stunning-amount-of-oil-released-by-biden-found-its-way-to-china-other-countries">found their way</a> to nations such as India, the Netherlands, and Italy, as well as a Chinese oil company with <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-sold-nearly-1-million-barrels-of-oil-to-chinese-state-owned-company-tied-to-hunter-biden">links</a> to Hunter Biden.
The decline in emergency reserves occurs months ahead of the winter season. According to the <a href="https://www.farmersalmanac.com/extended-forecast">Farmer’s Almanac</a>, the United States could be positioned to experience a “cold December and a very cold January.”
The national average price of gasoline was $2.38 per gallon when President Joe Biden assumed office, according to the <a href="https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&amp;s=EMM_EPMR_PTE_NUS_DPG&amp;f=W">Energy Information Administration</a>, and increased to $3.53 per gallon by the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Prices surpassed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/gas-prices">$5.00 per gallon</a> in early June before subsiding to $3.92 per gallon as of Friday, according to <a href="https://gasprices.aaa.com/">AAA</a>.
Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/peter-doocy-asks-for-a-straight-answer-on-keystone-gets-the-runaround-from-jen-psaki">nixed</a> an expansion of the Keystone XL Pipeline upon his entrance into office. Yet the commander-in-chief has repeatedly cast the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin as the main factor behind soaring energy costs.
“Putin’s Price Hike hit hard in May here and around the world: high gas prices at the pump, energy, and food prices accounted for around half of the monthly price increases, and gas pump prices are up by $2 a gallon in many places since Russian troops began to threaten Ukraine,” Biden said in a June <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/06/10/statement-by-president-biden-on-consumer-price-index-cpi-in-may/">statement</a>. “Even as we continue our work to defend freedom in Ukraine, we must do more — and quickly — to get prices down here in the United States.”
However, business leaders — including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon — have called for the United States to increase oil production. “We should focus on climate. The problem with that is because of high oil and gas prices, the world is turning back on their coal plants,” he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jpmorgan-ceo-scoffs-at-climate-crazy-energy-policies-gives-his-take-on-woke-capitalism">remarked</a> last week. “It is dirtier. Why can’t we get it through our thick skulls, that if you want to solve climate, it is not against climate for America to boost more oil and gas?”
Meanwhile, senior White House officials have claimed that higher fuel prices will accelerate renewable energy adoption in the United States.
“The more pain we are all experiencing from the high price of gas, the more benefit there is for those who can access electric vehicles,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pete-buttigieg-tells-americans-how-they-can-channel-their-pain-at-the-pump">argued</a> last month during a hearing before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
“The real truth is that as long as our nation remains overly reliant on oil and fossil fuels, we will feel these price shocks again,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/energy-secretary-lays-out-the-only-way-to-avoid-high-gas-prices-and-its-not-producing-more-oil">said</a> in June. “This is not going to be the last time. The next time there’s a war, the next time there’s a pandemic or another hurricane, these extreme weather events we are experiencing — they will impact the access that we have to fossil fuels.”

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U.S. Petroleum Reserves Hit Lowest Level In Decades Ahead Of Winter Months

Biden's Release Of Strategic Oil Leads To Lowest Levels In Decades Ahead Of Winter Months

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