[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 57 (Tuesday, April 10, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S4300]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     STRATEGIC REFINERY RESERVE ACT

  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I rise today to speak on a bill I 
introduced, the Strategic Refinery Reserve Act of 2007. This bill would 
authorize the Department of Energy to build enough refining capacity to 
meet the energy needs of the Federal Government--primarily the 
Department of Defense--and to supply the private market in times of 
shortages and price spikes.
  Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which severely damaged oil refineries in 
the Gulf Coast, illustrated the Nation's vulnerability to a disruption 
in supply of refined petroleum and exposed shortcomings in our current 
Strategic Petroleum Reserve system. The Strategic Refinery Reserve Act 
would address these issues by having a refining capacity of 5 percent 
of total U.S. consumption of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. Three 
percent of capacity would be held in reserve, ready to increase supply 
in the private market in times of energy emergencies. The remaining 2 
percent of that would go to the Federal Government to support the day-
to-day needs of the military, saving taxpayers from paying the oil 
industry's inflated prices.
  The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Monday that 
drivers paid an average of $2.80 a gallon for regular gasoline last 
week, up from $2.70 the week prior. According to the report, prices are 
now 11.7 cents per gallon higher than April of 2006. The price per 
barrel of oil, set by the Middle East cartel Organization of Petroleum 
Exporting Countries, OPEC, is only one factor that pushes up the price 
of gas and oil in our country. Refining capacity, the infrastructure 
that takes crude oil and turns it into gas, is down dramatically, which 
pushes the price of gas up for everyone.
  U.S. refineries today are running at full, or near full, capacity. In 
1981, there were 324 refineries in the United States; today there are 
149. Big Oil has made it clear that they are unwilling to reinvest 
their record profits in new refineries because the less they sell, the 
more they make per gallon. That may be good for oil company 
shareholders, but it is bad for consumers. The Strategic Refinery 
Reserve Act will ensure the availability of emergency refinery capacity 
and protect consumers from sharp increases in the price of petroleum 
products. Our economy, our military, our communities and our families 
are struggling under the burden of high energy prices. They expect us 
to work to bring energy prices down. This bill would do that.

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