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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) released the following statement after introducing a bipartisan amendment with Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) that would save taxpayer dollars and reserve oil reservoirs in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), which is headquartered in Harahan, Louisiana:
“This amendment allows the Secretary of Energy the ability to sell Strategic Petroleum Reserve quantities of crude oil when the price goes up. America is blessed with an abundance of oil. Taxpayers invested in this emergency oil stockpile. If some must be sold, it should be sold at the highest price possible to get the best deal for taxpayers.”
Currently, the Secretary of Energy must sell the crude oil on a specific schedule without regard to price, which will likely result in loss of revenue to the federal government. The Cassidy-Markey amendment would allow the Secretary of Energy the flexibility to adjust sales based on market prices, which would preserve supply and maximize taxpayer benefit.
The SPR amendment is currently pending in the Energy Policy Modernization Act (EPMA). The bill will be the first update to United States’ energy policy since 2007.
This is one of several amendments Dr. Cassidy is offering to the EPMA.
Read the amendment here. |