The Republican-led lower congressional chamber approved a bill on Friday that attempts to restrict withdrawals from Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), the United States emergency stockpile of crude oil.
The bill received the support of 221 Republicans, while 205 Democrats opposed it. The legislation will require the United States Energy Department to devise a plan which will bolster the energy production on federal land before tapping into the SPR for non-emergency purposes. "Biden has raided 40% of America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve," House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said. "This bill simply requires him to provide a plan to replenish it before he raids it," he added.
Previously, the country's Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said that US President Joe Biden could overturn the Republican-sponsored bill which is now headed to Senate for approval. The Energy Information Administration lastly reported that the SPR inventory is currently hovering around its lowest point since 1983.
