Hearing Wrap Up: President Biden Damaged America’s Oil Security by Depleting the SPR - United States House Committee on Oversight and Accountability

WASHINGTON – Today, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs held a hearing titled “Burning the Midnight Oil: Why Depleting the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is Not a Solution to America’s Energy Problem, Part 1.” At the hearing, subcommittee members asked expert witnesses about how the Biden Administration’s mismanagement and depletion of the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) affected our country’s oil security. Members also warned that the Biden Administration has no plan for energy policy that works for the American people.

Key Takeaways:

The Biden Administration has harmed American oil security and sent energy prices skyrocketing by depleting domestic energy production and restricting oil investment, production, and transport.

In opening remarks, Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Tx.) emphasized that the Biden Administration has conducted an all-of-government war on our domestic industry, and as a result recklessly turned to the SPR.
Mr. Alex Epstein, President of the Center for Industrial Progress (CIP) testified that although President Biden has wrongly tried to blame high oil prices on Putin’s war in Ukraine, “…the root cause is global anti-fossil fuel policies supported by Biden, which made oil and other fossil fuel prices artificially high pre-war and prevented the free world from quickly increasing production in response.”

Instead of responding to high gas prices by reversing his own anti-American energy policies, President Biden chose to manipulate short-term prices by depleting our SPR.

Mr. Epstein testified that he believes President Biden’s decision to deplete the SPR was for political purposes. “Without oil industry freedom, the SPR’s modest stockpile can’t make us secure. Now, instead of protecting our oil security by protecting oil industry freedom and backing it up with an ample reserve, President Biden has damaged it by one, attacking the oil industry’s freedom and then two, dangerously depleting our reserve for political purposes.”

President Biden must take responsibility for his abuse of the SPR, which has put America’s national security at risk.

Mr. Epstein testified that President Biden failed to uphold the intended purposes of the SPR to protect America’s oil security. “The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is a crucial tool to protect America’s oil security, which is a foundation of our national security, because oil powers our military and economic security. Oil powers mobility. The Biden Administration is unfortunately abusing the SPR and as a result they are threating our oil security.”

Dr. Ilia Bouchouev, Ph.D. and Managing Partner at Pentathlon Investments, LLC testified that President Biden lowered the SPR by unprecedented levels — more than all his predecessors in office combined: “The magnitude was unprecedented. The sale not only exceeded the old previous sales combined, but it was three times larger than all of the emergency sales in the past forty years.”

Member Highlights:

Subcommittee Chairman Pat Fallon (R-Texas) noted that President Biden has no plan for American energy policy that works for the American people in the long term.

Rep. Fallon: “Does the decision to deplete the SPR to historically low levels mean the Biden Administration has no real plan for American energy policy?”

Mr. Epstein: “I think saying ‘no real plan’ is too charitable. I think they have a very bad plan. The basic plan is to rapidly eliminate fossil fuels as soon as possible, and then pretend that they can be replaced by unreliable solar and wind.”

Rep. Fallon also warned that one of the greatest beneficiaries of the massive depletion of American petroleum is communist China.

Rep. Fallon: “How has China benefited from the decision to deplete the SPR?”

Dr. Bouchouev: “We used to have a billion barrels in reserve, half of it was SPR, half of it was private. Now we are down to about 800 million. Ten years ago, China had about one-fifth of what we had — about 200 million. Based on third party data, last year China surpassed a billion.” […] “As our inventories are depleting, China’s inventories are growing.”

Rep. Russell Fry (R-S.C.) highlighted how the Biden Administration depleted the SPR without necessary evidence of supply disruptions.

Rep. Fry: “We have three Presidents that have tapped [the SPR] for a limited purpose when there has been a disruption in the marketplace for a limited purpose. Now, under this President, we have seen 226 million barrels. In your opinion, do you think that was an appropriate use of the SPR?”

Mr. Epstein: “It was wildly inappropriate because the underlying cause was the anti-fossil fuel policies that Joe Biden has supported for 15-plus years.”

Rep. Fry: “Why might the Biden Administration have acted improperly in 2022?”

Dr. Bouchouev: “There were really no emergency disruptions. There was plenty of oil.” Dr. Bouchouev continued, “Trying to control the price is a very irrational decision.”

Rep. Fry: “What do you see as possible solutions to creating more affordable energy for consumers?”

Mr. Epstein: “We have a whole-of-government attack on fossil fuels. The first thing we need is a whole-of-government support for freedom for all forms of energy. Until that stops, the energy industry is going to be terrified.”

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) explained that President Biden doesn’t have a real plan to lower energy prices for Americans in the long term.

Rep. Boebert:“Would the Inflation Reduction Act, with its hundreds of billions of dollars going towards Green New Deal Energy policies, is that going to protect us from a climate emergency?”

Mr. Epstein: “First of all, the IRA doesn’t accomplish anything in terms of globally cost-competitive solutions, and in fact it keeps over-subsidizing solar and wind into the indefinite future.”

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) pointed out that it is essential for America to strengthen its energy supplies against competitors like China.

Mr. Epstein: “The only way for us to be secure and outcompete [China] is to have a very aggressive energy freedom policy, and that includes liberating domestic development from things like NEPA.”

“We need an emissions policy of long-term reductions, not catastrophic emergency reductions through liberating American innovation, not punishing America. What the IRA does, is it punishes America and accomplishes nothing globally.”

CLICK HERE to watch the hearing.