President Biden will veto a House Republican bill that would restrict the release of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) emergency reserve, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Jan. 23.
“If Congress were to pass H.R. 21, the president would veto it. He will not allow the American people to suffer because of the backwards agenda that House Republicans are advancing,” Granholm told reporters during a White House press briefing.
House Republicans, led by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), introduced the legislation, known as the Strategic Production Response Act or HR21, earlier this month.
The bill would require the Biden administration to develop a plan to boost the percentage of federal lands leased for oil and gas production if it wants to release oil from the SPR. It includes an exception in the case of “severe energy supply” interruptions….