New releases from the U.S. emergency oil stockpile would be a continuation of a longstanding willingness of the administration’s officials to use America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to influence energy prices, a practice that congress has warned is “unethical and potentially illegal.” Amos Hochstein, President Joe Biden’s top energy adviser, said that gas prices are “still too high for many Americans” and he would like to see them “cut down a little bit further.” “We will do everything we can to make sure that the market is supplied well enough to ensure as low price as possible for American consumers,” Hochstein told the Financial Times. “I think that we have enough in the SPR if it’s necessary.” In early 2022, the Biden administration initiated a policy of depleting U.S. oil reserves to mitigate the effects of rising inflation on Americans. Initially planning to release one million barrels per day for six months, the administration extended the releases into November. This resulted in the nation's emergency oil supply dropping to a 40-year low. The White House intended to replenish the SPR once oil prices fell to $79 per barrel or lower, but prices have remained around $85 per barrel. As of the week ending June 7, the SPR reached a new low, falling to levels not seen since 1983, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The SPR is now approximately 58 percent of what it was when former President Donald Trump left office. The oil releases faced significant scrutiny and allegations of impropriety after it was revealed that some of America's oil supply was sent to a Chinese gas company in which Biden's son's private equity firm had a $1.7 billion stake. Following the initial releases, a group of 12 congressmen sent a letter to the White House, advising that arbitrarily releasing America's strategic oil reserves was likely illegal and could constitute an impeachable offense. “The purpose of the SPR is ‘primarily to reduce the impact of disruptions in supplies of petroleum products’ and supply crude oil to Americans during times of national emergency,” the lawmakers wrote. “The oil within the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was intended for the American people, not for adversarial countries, and certainly not to make the Biden Family richer at a time when our citizens are paying almost $5.00 a gallon for gasoline and $6.00 for diesel.” The lawmakers added, “These allegations are severely unsettling, and if true, may even constitute an impeachable offense under the ‘bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors’ clause of Article 2 of the Constitution.”The Biden administration is considering tapping into oil from America’s strategic reserve if gas prices rise this summer in order to prevent a spike in inflation ahead of the 2024 election.
