White House Uses GOP Oil Bills to Go on Gasoline-Price Offensive
Jan 23, 2023 by Bloomberg(Bloomberg) -- US gasoline prices are back on the agenda in Washington as both political parties go on the offensive. And this time it’s Democrats using them as a cudgel against Republicans.
The White House is arguing that GOP-supported bills critical of the administration’s energy policy will end up raising fuel costs for Americans.
House Republicans have teed up a vote this week on legislation that would tie releases of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to increased drilling on federal lands and water. The Democratically controlled Senate isn’t expected to take up the bill.
The move is an example of how Republicans are using their House majority to shine a light on the Biden administration’s historic 180-million-barrel drawdown from the reserve. Democrats argue that by attaching strings to use of the oil reserve, Republicans would hinder their ability to use it during emergencies. Last year, as gasoline rose to a historic high in the wake of Ukraine’s invasion, President Joe Biden tapped strategic stockpiles in an effort relieve fuel makers as the world shunned Russian supplies.
Republicans criticized the drawdown as a political ploy to lower gasoline prices before the midterm elections.
“Republican elected officials spent the last two years falsely claiming we were raising gas prices, and then once they take control of the House they push an extreme agenda that would actually raise gas prices for Americans,” White House spokesperson Abdullah Hasan said in a statement Monday.
Read: House Votes to Ban Oil Reserve Sales to China Amid GOP Criticism
A bill that would bar sales from the stockpile to China cleared the House earlier this month — one of the chamber’s first pieces of legislation to pass under House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
“Sadly, President Biden has used the SPR as his own personal piggy bank and tapped into our emergency reserves to try to bail out his administration’s extreme climate agenda and lower gas prices,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise’s office said in a statement Sunday.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm will speak at the White House press briefing Monday to highlight the effects of the administration’s oil reserve release, a White House official said.
Granholm is expected to argue that gasoline prices have dropped $1.60 per gallon since they peaked at more than $5 over the summer, and highlight Biden’s call on oil and gas producers to lower their costs for consumers, the official said.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.
By
More Oil and Gas

China’s Reopening Boost to Commodities Prices Is Losing Power
Feb 01, 2023
Putin’s War in Ukraine Pushes Ex-Soviet States Toward New Allies
Jan 31, 2023
Oil Set for Monthly Drop as Chinese Demand, Fed Meeting in Focus
Jan 31, 2023
Oil Declines as Commodities Ease After China’s New Year Break
Jan 30, 2023
Russia’s War in Ukraine is Accelerating the Shift Away From Oil and Gas, BP Says
Jan 30, 2023
Oil Extends Gains as China Optimism Outweighs Slowdown Concerns
Jan 27, 2023
Maersk Supply Service awarded solutions contract in Brazil
Jan 27, 2023
Canadian Oil Flows to Asia Surge After US Refinery Disruptions
Jan 26, 2023
Emerson breaks ground at manufacturing hub at King Salman Energy Park (SPARK) in Saudi
Jan 25, 2023