American are being told by President Biden that 180 million barrels will be released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Steven Dennis of Bloomberg reminds us, as a Bloomberg journalist, what a big difference two years make.
Trump had in mind to increase the SPR’s capacity and to add $3 billion to a package of stimulus funds to Congress for oil price drops.
Trump declared:
“Based on the prices of oil, I’ve … instructed the secretary of energy to purchase, at a very good price, large quantities of crude oil for storage in the U.S. strategic reserve. We’re going to fill it right up to the top.”
However, the SPR was not stuffed to its brim. Democrats in all their wisdom snatched $3 billion from the stimulus program.
Then they laughed and brag about it.
It’s called the Strategic Oil Reserve, not the Trying-To-Save-Myself-Politically-Because-I-Stupidly-Limited-Domestic-Production Reserve. https://t.co/wmrA5e8CTk
— Mark Krikorian (@MarkSKrikorian) April 1, 2022
RELATED: Washington Post Now Reports Hunter Biden Received Close to $5 Million from Chinese Oligarchs
There are no bailouts
Support Conservative Voices!
Get the most recent news by signing upGet political news, insights, and commentary directly delivered to your email inbox
Democrats boasted about getting the funding for oil reserves removed from the bill at that time. Then Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called it “a $3 billion bailout for big oil.”
Environmental groups cheered also the exclusion. Michelle Chan, Vice President of programs with Friends of the Earth said, “The defeat of $3 billion exclusively for Big Oil is an important victory.”
Greenpeace USA Senior Climate Campaigner Jack Shapiro said, “Senators are finally listening. We’re glad to see them abandon the idea of ‘filling up’ the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at Trump’s request.”
Whoops.
VICTORY! Energy Department canceled its $3 billion Big Oil Bailout Plan!
Many thanks @SenSchumer & Senate Democrats for stopping this administration from exploiting a global pandemic to help polluters profit.https://t.co/X6ivnnEi5m
— Friends of the Earth (Action) (@foe_us) April 3, 2020
RELATED: Report: Border Agents Are Bracing For ‘Disaster,’ Expect 170,000 Illegal Immigrants In Just One Month
National Security Issue
Donald Trump’s attempt at filling the SPR was the first time it had been attempted since George W. Bush ordered it filled to capacity immediately after 9/11.
At the time of Trump’s proposal, White House energy advisor at the National Security Council in the Bush administration Bob McNally said, “Better to do it before an emergency. We still need a large SPR because our economy remains vulnerable to price shocks from disruptions anywhere.”
He was right, boy.
Trump was adamant about filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve with cheap oil, and Schumer boasted of his inability to do so.
— Steven Dennis (@StevenTDennis) March 31, 2022
RELATED: Majority Of Americans Report ‘Falling Behind’ Rising Cost Of Living
Enter The Biden ‘Plan’
Because Democrats did everything they could to block Donald Trump’s attempts at making sure the SPR was topped off, President Joe Biden announced this week that he would release 180 million barrels of oil over the next six months, ironically ending right before election day, in order to ease Americans’ pain at the pump.
Critics claim the plan won’t help. They instead point out the stifling energy policy of the Biden Administration, which includes stopping production on Keystone XL and halting leases of federal lands for oil production.
Biden has also blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine for the spike in oil prices.
It’s just too bad the political party currently in power put their politics ahead of America’s national security when it mattered most.
Strategic Oil Reserve (SOR) is a domestic emergency supply of oil that can be used in times of crisis or war. This reserve is not intended to increase poll numbers. Biden has recklessly depleted this reserve. This is actually crippling our capacity to face a future crisis.
— Liberty Zoomer 🕊️ (@Liberty_Zoomer) April 1, 2022