Biden Will Veto Republican Bill On Oil Reserves If It Passes Congress, Energy Secretary Says: Won't 'Allow American People To Suffer'

U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm reportedly said on Monday that President Joe Biden will veto the HR21 Bill by U.S. House of Representatives Republicans on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve if it passes Congress.

“So I’ll be very clear: If Congress were to pass HR21, the President would veto it. He will not allow the American people to suffer because of the backward agenda that House Republicans are advancing,” she said, according to a statement released by the White House.

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She said that when one considers the HR21, it needlessly aims to weaken the SPR’s usefulness as a tool to ensure energy security in America. “The SPR ... gives us the means to increase supply when the market needs it most, and it gives us the tool to increase it quickly — 'quickly' being the operative word. Speed is key,” she said.

The Bill: HR21 would forbid the energy secretary from tapping the SPR without presenting a plan to increase oil and gas leasing on federal lands — unless the release is for a severe oil supply emergency, the report said.

The House is likely to vote on the bill as soon as this week but it would face an uphill battle in the Senate which is controlled by Democrats.

What concerns Republicans is the fact that last year's releases from the SPR, the biggest amount of crude oil from any president, have led to a decline in the ability to store, pipe and pump oil at the SPR, the report said.

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