Republican-led bill protecting nation’s petroleum reserve passes House

U.S. Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), David Valadao (R-CA), and Frank Lucas (R-OK) applauded passage on Jan. 12 by the House of Representatives of a GOP bill that would prohibit the sale and export of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to China. The bill now heads to the U.S. Senate for action.

The Protecting America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act, H.R. 22, which Rep. McMorris Rodgers sponsored on Jan. 9 with 43 Republican original cosponsors, including Rep. Valadao, passed the U.S. House on a 331-97 vote. Rep. Lucas voted in support of the bill.  

“I’m proud to join my Republican colleagues in passing H.R. 22, one of the most bipartisan votes on an energy bill in many years and multiple congresses,” Rep. McMorris Rodgers said. “There’s more to come. This is just the beginning.”

If enacted, H.R. 22 would prohibit the U.S. Department of Energy from selling petroleum products like crude oil from the SPR to any entity that is under the ownership, control, or influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), according to the congressional record bill summary.

H.R. 22 also states that the Energy Department must require as a condition of any sale of crude oil from the SPR that the oil not be exported to China, the summary says.

“I was proud to support this bill that would prevent the administration from implementing this irresponsible and dangerous strategy again in the future,” said Rep. Valadao. “We need to focus on increasing domestic energy production, not supporting adversaries while Americans suffer from outrageously high energy prices here at home.”

During the last two years, the Biden administration has approved the sale of nearly 250 million barrels of crude oil from the SPR, or almost 40 percent of the entire stockpile, with roughly $100 million dollars worth of oil going to entities connected to the CCP, according to the Energy Department. 

“These reserves are meant for emergency situations only, they’re not supposed to be a band-aid political fix for the president’s bad energy policies,” Rep. Valadao said. 

Rep. Lucas pointed out that since its inception, the SPR has been both a national security and an energy security asset that has helped reduce energy supply disruptions.

“Yet, more recently, President Biden has irresponsibly utilized the SPR to cover up his failed policies, rapidly draining America’s petroleum reserves to its lowest levels since 1983,” said Rep. Lucas. “As well as tying the hands and limiting the U.S.’s ability to respond to energy disruptions, the Biden Administration is bolstering the oil reserves of the [CCP], who continues to ramp up its purchases of crude oil from Russia and the United States.”

“We must reverse the Biden administration’s dangerous course of action,” Rep. Lucas said. 

Rep. McMorris Rodgers agreed that Biden is draining the nation’s SPR, saying that to date, the president 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,” she added. “Draining our strategic reserves for political purposes and selling it to China is a significant threat to our national and energy security. This must be stopped.”