On the recordJune 23, 2011
Mr. Speaker, President Obama announced today that he is releasing 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to alleviate supply disruptions that he claims are as a result of the conflict in Libya. The irony here is obvious: Who attacked Libya and created the disruptions in the first place? Furthermore, this is the same President whose policies and regulations over the past 2 years have systematically choked our domestic energy production, stifled job creation and resulted in record energy prices for the American public. Releasing oil from the SPR is an obvious political move to cover up the high gasoline prices created by the President's policies. Mr. President, if you were truly serious about increasing the supply of oil and lowering prices, you would stop being the candidate-in-chief and begin taking leadership on a sound energy policy, parts of which the House has already passed. ____________________
