The Department of Energy will release 50 million barrels of oil from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the White House announced Tuesday, as the Biden administration seeks ways to control rising costs at the pump.
Tuesday’s announcement was made in concert with China, India, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom, which will also tap into their own strategic reserves.
The consumer price index, which tracks inflation for a range of staple goods and services, rose 0.9 percent last month and 6.2 percent in the 12-month period ending in October. The rise in prices was driven largely by a 4.8 percent increase in energy costs for the month, including a 1.6 percent increase in gasoline prices.
Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), the ranking member of the Senate Energy Committee, said on Tuesday that Biden’s own policies were to blame for needing to tap into the strategic reserve.
“We are experiencing higher prices because the administration and Democrats in Congress are waging a war on American energy,” Barrasso said in a statement, arguing Tuesday’s announcement would not fix the problem alone.
“Begging OPEC and Russia to increase production and now using the Strategic Petroleum Reserve are desperate attempts to address a Biden-caused disaster,” Barrasso added. “They’re not substitutes for American energy production.”