Daniel Schaefer: “this bill reauthorizes certain provisions contained in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. Specifically, this bill…”

“this bill reauthorizes certain provisions contained in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. Specifically, this bill assures that if there is an energy emergency during the August recess, the President's authority to drawdown the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the ability of U.S. oil companies to participate in the International Energy Agreement without violating antitrust laws is preserved. It is important that the United States maintain a strong Strategic Petroleum Reserve to protect American citizens from shutoffs in imported oil. Similarly, the President's authority to order a drawdown of that stored oil in an emergency must also be maintained. This bill assures the President's drawdown authority is kept intact until the end of the fiscal year. This bill does not address the issue of maintaining adequate levels of oil in the Reserve. Over the past 18 months, I have been greatly troubled by the trend of selling oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to meet budgetary goals. The Reserve is our first line of defense in an energy emergency. This energy security insurance policy for which we have paid over $200 billion should not be squandered carelessly to meet short-term budgetary objectives. I have directed staff to work on a long-term EPCA extension which would make it more difficult for the Reserve to be raided by people willing to sacrifice long-term energy security for short-term budget goals.”