Cole Opposes Biden Administration Decision to Tap into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Statement

Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04) released the following statement in opposition to the Biden Administration's announced decision to release 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in an attempt to lower gas prices.

"The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is supposed be used during genuine national emergencies not as a mechanism to reduce the price of gasoline," said Cole. "If the Biden Administration wants to lower gasoline prices, it should end its war on the American oil and gas industry. It could do so by reversing its decision to limit new exploration and production on federal lands and authorizing construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. The Trump Administration showed that when domestic production of oil and gas is encouraged, robust economic growth and low gasoline prices can also exist simultaneously.

"The high prices Americans are paying at the pump are directly attributable to the Biden Administration's decision to punish the domestic oil and gas industry. That is exactly the wrong approach. In the end, all it does is raise energy costs all Americans are forced to pay, contribute to rapidly rising inflation and make the United States dangerously dependent on foreign countries and producers for its energy needs."

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