The U.S. Senate passed an amendment to the annual defense bill on Thursday that would ban oil exports to China from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), which sits half empty after President Joe Biden ordered a drawdown to reduce soaring inflation.
The amendment, spearheaded by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) passed the upper chamber in a vote of 85-12 on July 20.
The SPR, which was filled to its then 727 million barrel storage capacity a little over a decade ago, has been depleted to a multi-decade low of 336 million barrels, the latest federal data shows.
Reduced levels of the strategic stockpile have been the subject of controversy, as Republicans accused Mr. Biden of drawing it down irresponsibly and depriving the nation of an important energy buffer in case of emergencies….