Rep. Miller Statement on President's Decision to Tap Strategic Petroleum Reserve

WASHINGTON – U.S. Congresswoman Candice Miller (MI-10) today made the following comments in response to the Administration’s announcement that they will release 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). Miller said:

“Today’s announcement that the President will release 30 million barrels of oil from the SPR is more proof that this Administration has no plan to deal with our nation’s long-term energy needs. It is ill advised that the President would rather take millions of barrels of oil from an emergency reserve, which is in place to protect our nation from supply disruptions, than take the steps needed to open up our domestic energy reserves to exploration that will not only provide the energy supplies we need, but will also create jobs here at home.

“I think is ironic that the 30 million barrel release from the SPR is equal to the amount of oil that could be derived in just one month from Alaska’s Outer Continental Shelf if the Obama Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency would remove roadblocks they continue to place on exploration here at home. Additionally, if the Obama Administration provided the go-ahead to build the Keystone XL pipeline to connect our nation to supplies from our ally Canada, we would bring online more than 1.3 million barrels of additional supply each and every day. Those are both real solutions to our nation’s energy needs that will provide consumers long-term relief to ever increasing prices at the pump and create the jobs we need here in this nation. The approach the President has decided to take is nothing more than a band aid that will do nothing to help get our economy moving.”

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