Today, the U.S. House of Representatives will likely pass H.R. 6022, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Fill Suspension and Consumer Protection Act.  Rep. John Lewis is one of the co-sponsors of the bill. The measure suspends the filling of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve through the end of the year, as long as the price of crude oil remains above $75 per barrel.

    “This is not a silver-bullet,” said Rep. Lewis, “but it is one answer among others that the Congress is working on.  We must find some ways to ease the pressure on American families to make ends meet.  Gas prices are too high, and people are hurting right now. People are rationing gas voluntarily because they can’t afford to fill up their tanks.   Businesses and government is hurting too—the truckers, the airline industry, school systems.  The people are looking for leadership, and since the President has been unwilling to act, the Congress is trying to use every means at its disposal to respond to this crisis.”

    With gas prices at a record high of $3.72 a gallon, it is estimated that suspending shipments to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve could lower prices by 5 to 24 cents per gallon, by adding 70,000 barrels of oil to the market daily. The SPR is 97 percent full, and currently holds more than $80 billion worth of oil. Continued purchases, which drive up the costs to American consumers, do not make sense, especially in these hard times.

    The bill passed 97-1 in the U.S. Senate and is expected to pass on suspension in the House tonight.  If the President vetoes this measure, it is expected that the Congress will have the votes to override his veto.

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Brenda Jones

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