“ Administration officials say restocking the SPR won’t halt the price crash rocking the shale industry, but they say it makes sense on energy security grounds and would benefit taxpayers. Congress has been selling off oil from the reserve in recent years to fund unrelated priorities, but a sustained period of low prices represents a good opportunity to fill the SPR back up, the administration says.
“President Trump’s directive to buy oil at a competitive price for the SPR is a common-sense move benefiting taxpayers and supporting our nation’s economic and national security interest,” Hynes said. “The American energy sector is a major driver of our nation’s economy, and it is being significantly harmed by the impacts”
Congress has been selling off oil from the reserve in recent years to fund unrelated priorities,
Biden administration has been selling off as it is an easy source of cash.
The SPR isn’t meant for ongoing price control, it’s for damage control in case of a shortage of product due to war, etc. SPR was pretty full when oil hit $147 a barrel under Bush. He threatened to draw it down and oil went below $50. When the SPR is low it isn’t as much of a threat to countries trying to affect the price. In other news, Biden is still an idiot.