HYDE-SMITH SIGNS ONTO BILLS TO RESTRICT HOW BIDEN USES STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE
Miss. Senator Cosponsors Two Measures to Restore U.S. Energy Production Dominance, Prohibit Sales to China
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) has cosponsored legislation to prioritize American energy production and limit the ability of the U.S. Department of Energy from tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).
Hyde-Smith, who serves on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, cosponsored the Strategic Petroleum Response Act (S.31) in response to the Biden administration’s historic depletion of the SPR while also hampering U.S. energy production.
“President Biden has repeatedly misused our Strategic Petroleum Reserve by draining it to record low levels and selling it to foreign adversaries, completely undermining our national security. All the while, his administration continues to make it more difficult for to U.S. energy producers to maximize American energy production and benefit consumers,” Hyde-Smith said.
In addition to prohibiting the Secretary of Energy from using the SPR for reasons other than a severe energy supply interruption, S.31 stipulates that the SPR withdrawals couldn’t occur until the Secretary of the Interior issues a plan to increase oil and gas production on federal lands and waters. U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) introduced this legislation, and Hyde-Smith cosponsored a similar bill in the last Congress.
Hyde-Smith has also cosponsored the Protecting America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act (S.9), a measure authored by U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas). It would prohibit the Secretary of Energy from drawing down and selling petroleum products from the SPR to any entity under the ownership, control, or influence of the Chinese Communist Party.
“It’s high time for the President and his administration to put America first, instead of using our reserves to prop up the Chinese Communist Party,” said Hyde-Smith, who also cosponsored similar legislation in the 117th Congress.
Hyde-Smith has used her membership on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, as well as the Senate Appropriations Committee, to pressure the Biden administration to abandon policies that inhibit U.S. energy production to the detriment of American consumers and the economy.
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