It was revealed on Wednesday that President Joe Biden shipped more than 5 million barrels of the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) overseas last month amid soaring domestic fuel costs.
Reuters reports that the barrels of the United States’ emergency petroleum stockpile, which is set aside to be utilized during times of crisis, was exported to European and Asian countries.
The Biden administration is drawing heat over its move to send emergency reserves abroad while Americans are contending with some of the highest fuel costs the nation has ever experienced. Last month, nationwide gas costs hit an all-time high.
According to AAA Gas Prices, the average cost for a regular gallon of gasoline in Alabama currently sits at $4.34.
Facing immense criticism, the administration explained that the export was executed as a means to combat global supply disruptions.
In a statement provided to Reuters, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Energy said that the shipment of strategic petroleum reserves “remains a critical energy security tool to address global crude oil supply disruptions.”
However, Republicans are pleading for the administration to ramp up domestic energy production to alleviate the financial strain Americans are experiencing at the pump.
U.S. Rep. Jerry Carl (R-Mobile), who represents Alabama’s oil-producing Gulf Coast region, called on the administration to “unleash” the full force of the United States’ energy sector to combat surging fuel costs.
“Since day one of the Biden administration, my Republican colleagues and I have been warning the President that his war on American energy will bankrupt Americans at the pump,” said Carl in a statement to Yellowhammer News. “Unfortunately, President Biden has continually ignored us and instead has chosen to cripple domestic energy production, which has caused American refineries to close and has made fuel prices skyrocket. The American people need relief, and we MUST unleash American energy now to bring fuel costs down.”
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
