Congress Votes to Help Lower Oil and Gas Prices
In response to high gas prices, House and Senate vote today
to temporarily suspend filling Strategic Petroleum Reserve
WASHINGTON, D.C. – 5/13/08 – In response to record high gas prices, the House will vote today to temporarily stop filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), a move that is widely expected to lower oil prices by freeing up additional volume for the market. Congressman George Miller (D-CA) will vote in favor of the bi-partisan bill. The Senate passed a bill that included this SPR provision earlier today. The vote was 97-1.
The House and Senate bills, first proposed by Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid, differ slightly but both would suspend additional supplies to the SPR through the end of the year as long as the price of crude oil remains above $75 per barrel. Oil traded today at $125 per barrel.
“Economists agree that temporarily suspending these deliveries will offer some relief at the pump by freeing up additional oil supplies to the broader market,” said Miller. “It is, of course, not the only thing Congress can and should do to help consumers, but it is one concrete step that we have taken to help people now. President Bush is wrong to oppose our bill and I urge him to reconsider his position and approve it. The President should stop saying ‘No’ to every idea that is presented to him to help consumers struggling under exorbitant gas prices.”
Miller noted that the new Democratic Congress has been pushing other legislation to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil by focusing on alternative fuel sources, alternative and renewable energy sources, and energy conservation, including approval late last year of the first increase in auto fuel efficiency standards in almost 25 years.
“Combined with the housing crisis and a struggling economy, skyrocketing gas prices are having a devastating impact on the American people,” Miller said. “Our bill is expected to increase supply for oil and lower gas prices anywhere from 5 to 24 cents per gallon without any risk to American security and oil supplies.”
Filling of the SPR takes 70,000 barrels of oil off the market each day. By law, the Bush Administration has the authority to suspend filling the SPR. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 permanently authorized the SPR and permits it to be filled only if it can be established that adding to the SPR is not placing upward pressure on prices.
“At this crucial juncture in our economy, it is hard to believe that President Bush has rejected bipartisan calls to suspend the SPR voluntarily,” said Miller. “Suspending the SPR is not an experimental idea. It has been successfully done before.”
The SPR was tapped or suspended by President Bush, President Clinton, and President George H. W. Bush. In 2000, after such action, the price of oil dropped by one-third – from $30 to $20 per barrel. Miller noted that with demand at record highs in the global economy, the price is not likely to drop as much as it did before. Still, he said, temporarily suspending SPR deliveries is a step that can be taken with no negative impact and a clear positive return for consumers.
energyandenvironment
gas prices
Posted by PDP-Staff at May 13, 08 11:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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