Heres to Obama for ruining the U.S. for us.
Posted on 10/31/2015 5:45:29 PM PDT by UMCRevMom@aol.com
Lawmakers are pushing legislation that could result in the selling off of 266 million barrels of oil from the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) over the next decade, mostly to fund more government spending.
Legislation for health care, highway funding and financing the government could end up drawing on down on oil supplies meant for emergency situations. If all three bills are signed into law, some 266 million barrels, or nearly 40 percent, of the current 695 million barrel SPR would be sold off in the next decade to raise about $23 billion.
“The 114th Congress has introduced three separate bills that would fund non-energy policy goals by mandating crude oil sales from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve,†according to an analysis by the consulting firm ClearView Energy.
ClearView noted the health care bill, called the 21st Century Cures Act, was the least likely to hit President Barack Obama’s desk despite passing out of the House with a veto-proof majority. On the other hand, the two other bills passing a budget and funding highways are more pressing issues to Republican and Democratic lawmakers. Just those two bills alone would draw down on 186 million barrels.
“Elected officials could face grave political penalties for failing to raise the debt ceiling or fund highway construction, but voters aren’t likely to notice the absence of [200 million barrels] of crude oil from salt caverns they can’t see,†ClearView noted.
“Moreover, swollen global inventories and falling oil production system capacity utilization tend to blunt the edge of geopolitical risk, which probably makes it easier for Congress to drill for dollars in the SPR,†the consulting firm added.
Calls to sell of SPR oil come amid a resurgence of crude oil production in the U.S. thanks to hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. As crude output has boomed, U.S. lawmakers have called for a repeal of the crude oil export ban and other policies to help keep America’s energy boom going.
But a consequence of the fracking boom is the SPR has lost some of its importance. With booming crude production, lawmakers can politically afford to sell strategic oil reserves to fund government programs.
The White House called the budget bill “a responsible agreement that is paid for in a balanced way.â€
Republican leadership negotiated the budget deal behind closed doors with White House officials and Democrats. The budget bill includes about $80 billion in spending increases — about $76 billion of which are offset by spending cuts and revenue increases, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Some Republican lawmakers are hesitant to support the budget, citing concerns over backroom dealings and that not all spending increases are offset. Some lawmakers were furious about their prized programs being cut, like federal crop insurance.
“Make no mistake, this is not about saving money. It is about eliminating Federal Crop Insurance,†said Texas Republican Rep. K. Michael Conaway said in a statement. “The House Agriculture Committee was not consulted regarding any changes to policies under the jurisdiction of our committee.â€
It’s also unclear where key Republicans stand on selling off oil reserves to fund new government programs. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski 18% has criticized such sales in the past, calling them “short-sighted.†This time around, however, Murkowski has been silent.
“Chairman Murkowski is currently reviewing the budget proposal as it relates to selling off oil from our strategic energy and national security asset – the Strategic Petroleum Reserve,†Michael Tadeo, Murkowski’s spokesman said in an emailed statement to reporters.
“As the budget process advances, we will further evaluate steps needed to update our nation’s energy and natural resources policies,†Tadeo said.
The SPR was created by President Gerald Ford in 1975 to improve America’s energy security should the country face another devastating oil embargo, like the one the Arab’s imposed in 1973 over U.S. support for Israel.
The SPR is the world’s largest supply of emergency crude oil with a capacity to hold 713.5 million barrels of oil.
Current legislative proposals to sell off oil aren’t the first non-emergency drawdowns to occur in recent years. In 2011, Obama sold 30 million barrels to offset potential price increases caused by the Libyan civil war — the sell off had negligible, temporary effect on oil prices.
not ‘again”. STILL!!!
How better to kick the oil industry when it’s down.
The federal government owns 640 million acres. @ an average of $3,020 per acre that is almost $2 trillion. Lots of it is top quality park land worth hundreds of times that. Sell some of that along with the mineral rights in lands they keep and direct that money to the national debt!
When someone or some business goes bankrupt, liquidation is in order.
Sell the White House and the Senate and Congress along with the Supreme court Buildings.
That is some prime time real estate. Someone would love to live there. Heck they can turn the rotunda into a shopping mall!
Let them all meet at the Motel 6 on Fourth St. It is better than they deserve! They can even stay there, two to a room! We will pick up the tab. The President can have the room with the Jacuzzi! He and Reggie Love, they will get good use out of it!
Limit the Congressional session to six weeks in August and September. Disconnect the Air conditioning and drain the pool in order to incentivise them to do their work and go home.
Sell all the government office buildings and lay off 80% of the federal workforce, then cut the remaining by 10% and you would still have twice the amount needed to annoy every American citizen.
Sell the fleet of jets used by the government employees, Senators and congressmen. Get them stand by flights on Southwest and a Rapid Rewards card. They only stop four or five times for a cross country trip!
Sell Air Force One. Buy an old mothballed 737 from Southwest for the Long Legged Mac Daddy and limit his flights to once a quarter and no farther than 500 miles at a time. Charge him for any millage over that.
Lots of ways to save and make money without selling the Oil reserve at less than half the price they paid fr it!
Instead of selling off the Strategic Oil Reserve how about selling off the Federal lands in the Western states?
Great idea. Buy high and sell low. Brilliant!
That's the way the do it in feral government land.
Bingo -
You’re the only one to really see this proposed plan for what it is.
It is a deliberate act to weaken us ahead of near future economic crash, and war conflict
There is no incompetence with this bunch
They are the wrench-in-the-works team.
They killed our domestic oil production.
They’ve forbidden Keystone pipeline.
They’ve killed coal.
And once they sell off strategic oil, that would be a fine time for a domestic energy crisis, and war.
Yeah, it’s treason.
We can sell off SPR oil, and export crude, just as soon as we import 0% oil from foreign sources.
Anything less is just looting for short term gain.
It’s strategic for a reason.
More idiotic gimmicks to keep the gravy train rolling.
No one in congress should be re-elected. NO ONE!
Not only will they lose money on the deal, it will drive oil prices down further, putting American oil producers in even worse shape. Maybe that is part of the plan.
This idiocy shows its the beginning of the end for free wheeling welfare state spending. The situation is untenable.
They are so stupid they would buy the lottery tickets in Illinois where they are so broke they can’t pay the winners.
This is outright theft from the American taxpayers.
How many people realize the GOP just passed a budget that once again RAIDED Social Security...something the Democrats were blamed for. Wouldn’t put anything past them at this point.
GOP suckered AGAIN
It illustrates the power of government to destroy the private sector.
Heres to Obama for ruining the U.S. for us.
It’s time the war went hot.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t we start The Strategic Oil Reserve when we were at the mercy of OPEC?
In case nobody noticed, we will be swimming in Domestic Oil for another 400 Years.
The days of needing the SOR are long past. Now it sounds like just another Government Boondoggle.
Did we have a Strategic Whale Oil Reserve a couple of hundred years ago?
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