Legislation introduced to protect crude oil reserves from foreign adversaries

U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced the No Emergency Crude Oil for Foreign Adversaries Act to ensure that reserves sold from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) are not exported to nations that are adversaries of the United States. Joining Senators Blackburn and Cruz as co-sponsors are Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), James Lankford (R-Okla.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), and Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.).
 “Under no circumstances should Joe Biden be selling American oil to our adversaries. Instead of making deals to prop up the Chinese Communist Party, Joe Biden needs to put America first. It’s time for him to stop doing everything in his power to undermine our country and instead kickstart an Operation Warp Speed for energy independence,” said Senator Blackburn.
“At a time of skyrocketing inflation and record gas prices, and with SPR drained to its lowest level since 1986, it is reckless and inexplicable that President Biden would allow oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to be exported to China. This practice poses a direct threat to American national security, not least of all because the Chinese Communist Party is currently stockpiling oil for strategic use, and the Biden administration is aiding their effort,” Senator Cruz said.
“America’s strategic petroleum reserve protects our country during national emergencies. Selling off American oil to countries that hate us undermines the security that the oil reserve is supposed to deliver, and we can’t let it happen again,” said Senator Kennedy.
 “While Oklahomans are forced by this Administration’s bad policies to pay more for gas and diesel, Biden continues to block US energy production. Now he’s outrageously selling our emergency oil supplies from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to nations like China. This is absolutely unacceptable. We should help American families afford gas and groceries by increasing domestic production, rather than handing over our emergency reserves to bad-actor nations,” Senator Lankford said.
 “I am continually disappointed with President Biden’s inability to lead and his plan to allow the export of Strategic Petroleum Reserve oil to China is yet another irresponsible decision on his part. According to the 2022 National Defense Strategy, China is our greatest threat. We should be holding the Chinese Communist Party accountable for their actions, not assisting them in their efforts to stockpile oil as another means to challenge the United States and our allies. That’s why I am glad to introduce the No Emergency Crude Oil for Foreign Adversaries Act alongside Sen. Cruz to help ensure our SPR reserves are not sold to our adversaries and that we prioritize our energy needs here at home first and foremost,” Senator Inhofe said.
 “President Biden crushed American energy production and then sold our strategic oil reserves to China, all while claiming to care about the high prices Americans were paying at the pump. This should never have been allowed to happen. Congress must pass legislation to ensure it doesn’t happen again,” Senator Hawley said.
 This legislation would block future SPR auctions from selling oil to China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran. It permits a waiver for national security reasons, and requires the Department of Energy to report the destination of exported oil from recent SPR auctions.