[House Report 117-536]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


117th Congress    }                                     {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session       }                                     {      117-536

======================================================================
 
   RESOLUTION OF INQUIRY REQUESTING THE PRESIDENT, AND DIRECTING THE 
   SECRETARY OF ENERGY, TO TRANSMIT TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
 CERTAIN INFORMATION RELATING TO PLANS TO DRAW DOWN AND SELL PETROLEUM 
 PRODUCTS FROM THE STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE AND PLANS TO REFILL THE 
                      STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE

                                _______
                                

 September 30, 2022.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be 
                                printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Pallone, from the Committee on Energy and Commerce, submitted the 
                               following

                             ADVERSE REPORT

                             together with

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

                      [To accompany H. Res. 1260]

    The Committee on Energy and Commerce, to whom was referred 
the resolution (H. Res. 1260) of inquiry requesting the 
President, and directing the Secretary of Energy, to transmit 
to the House of Representatives certain information relating to 
plans to draw down and sell petroleum products from the 
Strategic Petroleum Reserve and plans to refill the Strategic 
Petroleum Reserve, having considered the same, reports 
unfavorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the 
resolution not be agreed to.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                     Page
   I. Purpose and Summary.............................................  2
  II. Background and Need for the Legislation.........................  2
 III. Committee Hearings..............................................  3
  IV. Committee Consideration.........................................  3
   V. Committee Votes.................................................  3
  VI. Oversight Findings..............................................  5
 VII. New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditure  5
VIII. Federal Mandates Statement.......................................
  IX. Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives...........  5
   X. Duplication of Federal Programs.................................  5
  XI. Committee Cost Estimate.........................................  5
 XII. Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff Benefits.....  5
XIII. Advisory Committee Statement....................................  5
 XIV. Applicability to Legislative Branch.............................  6
  XV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation..................  6
 XVI. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported...........  6
XVII. Dissenting Views................................................  7

                         I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    H. Res. 1260 requests the President, and directs the 
Secretary of Energy, to transmit to the House of 
Representatives, not later than 14 days after the date of the 
adoption of the resolution, information relating to plans to 
draw down and sell petroleum products from and to refill the 
Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).

                II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    H. Res. 1260 requests information pertaining to plans to 
draw down and sell petroleum products from the SPR and plans to 
refill the SPR. This request is unnecessary and duplicative of 
information already provided by the President and Department of 
Energy (DOE).
    On November 23, 2021, the President announced the planned 
release of 50 million barrels of crude oil from the SPR to 
lower gasoline prices and address the supply and demand 
mismatch created by the pandemic.\1\ Of those 50 million 
barrels, 32 million were released as part of the SPR's exchange 
mechanism and will ultimately be returned to the SPR.\2\ The 
other 18 million barrels would be released pursuant to sales 
mandated by Congress in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018.\3\ 
The President's release of crude oil from the SPR coincided 
with announcements by several other major energy-consuming 
nations, including Japan, the United Kingdom, and the Republic 
of Korea.\4\
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    \1\White House, President Biden Announces Release from the 
Strategic Petroleum Reserve As Part of Ongoing Efforts to Lower Prices 
and Address Lack of Supply Around the World (Nov. 23, 2021).
    \2\Id. 
    \3\The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-123.
    \4\See note 1.
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    On March 2, 2022, the President announced a coordinated 
release of crude oil from the SPR of 30 million barrels in 
concert with the member countries of the International Energy 
Agency. That release contributed to a combined total of 60 
million barrels of crude oil to address supply shortages caused 
by the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine.\5\
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    \5\Department of Energy, DOE Announces an Emergency Sale of 30 
Million Barrels of Crude Oil From The Strategic Petroleum Reserve 
(March 2, 2022).
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    On March 31, 2022, the President announced the release of 
an additional 180 million barrels from the SPR to address oil 
supply shortages caused by the Russian Federation's invasion of 
Ukraine.\6\
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    \6\White House, FACT SHEET: President Biden's Plan to Respond to 
Putin's Price Hike at the Pump (March 31, 2022).
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    On July 26, 2022, the President announced additional 
guidance on the planned sales from the Reserve, and issued a 
U.S. Department of the Treasury report calculating that the 
release of oil from the SPR had lowered the cost of gasoline by 
40 cents per gallon.\7\ The President also announced plans to 
permit fixed-price forward purchases of crude oil to replenish 
the Reserve.\8\ According to the President, those purchases 
would not take place until after Fiscal Year 2023.\9\
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    \7\White House, FACT SHEET: Department of Energy Releases New 
Notice of Sale as Gasoline Prices Continue to Fall (July 26, 2022).
    \8\Id.
    \9\Id.
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    The President and DOE have been forthcoming about their 
plans to sell crude oil from and replenish the SPR. The 
resolution is therefore unnecessary and redundant of 
information provided to this Committee and the American public.

                        III. COMMITTEE HEARINGS

    The Committee on Energy and Commerce has not held a hearing 
on H. Res. 1260.

                      IV. COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

    H. Res. 1260 was introduced on July 26, 2022, by 
Representative Kelly (R-ND) and was referred to the Committee 
on Energy and Commerce. Subsequently, on July 27, 2022, the 
resolution was referred to the Subcommittee on Energy. The 
resolution was discharged from the Subcommittee on Energy on 
September 21, 2022.
    On September 21, 2022, the Committee met in open markup 
session and ordered H. Res. 1260, without amendment, adversely 
reported to the House by a record vote of 30 yeas and 19 nays.

                           V. COMMITTEE VOTES

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires the Committee to list each record vote 
on the motion to report legislation and amendments thereto. The 
Committee advises that there was one record vote taken on H. 
Res. 1260, including a motion by Mr. Pallone ordering H. Res. 
1260 adversely reported to the House, without amendment. The 
motion on final passage of the bill was approved by a record 
vote of 30 yeas to 19 nays. The following are the record votes 
taken during Committee consideration, including the names of 
those members voting for and against:


                         VI. OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause 2(b)(1) 
of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
oversight findings and recommendations of the Committee are 
reflected in the descriptive portion of the report.

 VII. NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY, AND TAX EXPENDITURES

    Pursuant to 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 
of Representatives, the Committee adopts as its own the 
estimate of new budget authority, entitlement authority, or tax 
expenditures or revenues contained in the cost estimate 
prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 
pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974.
    The Committee has requested but not received from the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office a statement as to 
whether this bill contains any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.

       IX. STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general 
performance goal or objective of this legislation is to request 
that the President and direct the Secretary of Energy to 
furnish certain information to the House of Representatives 
related to the President's plans to sell crude oil from the 
Strategic Petroleum Reserve and to refill the Strategic 
Petroleum Reserve.

                   X. DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII, no provision of H. 
Res. 1260 is known to be duplicative of another Federal 
program, including any program that was included in a report to 
Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139 or the 
most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.

                      XI. COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE

    Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII, the Committee 
adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared by the Director of 
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

    XII. EARMARKS, LIMITED TAX BENEFITS, AND LIMITED TARIFF BENEFITS

    Pursuant to clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI, the 
Committee finds that H. Res. 1260 contains no earmarks, limited 
tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits.

                   XIII. ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

    No advisory committee within the meaning of section 5(b) of 
the Federal Advisory Committee Act was created by this 
legislation.

                XIV. APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.

           XV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION

    H. Res. 1260 requests the President, and directs the 
Secretary of Energy, to transmit to the House of 
Representatives, not later than 14 days after the date of the 
adoption of the resolution, information relating to plans to 
draw down and sell petroleum products from the Strategic 
Petroleum Reserve and plans to refill the Strategic Petroleum 
Reserve.

       XVI. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

    There are no changes to existing law made by the bill H. 
Res. 1260.

                         XVII. DISSENTING VIEWS

    We support H. Res. 1260, a resolution that requests the 
President, and directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE), to reveal 
its plans for drawing down and selling petroleum products from 
the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), and to provide Congress 
with the plan to refill the Reserve. We are concerned that DOE 
is rapidly depleting the nation's petroleum reserves ahead of 
elections in November, while failing to establish long-term 
plans for the optimal size, configuration, maintenance, and 
operational capabilities of the Reserve.
    President Biden is abusing the SPR, conducting more SPR 
sales that any President in history, to deflect blame from the 
harmful economic impact of his radical ``rush to green'' 
climate agenda. Under the Biden Administration and the 
Democratic Majority in Congress, energy prices for American 
consumers have risen to the highest levels on record. To 
distract from high gasoline prices that exceeded $6 per gallon 
in some States, President Biden announced the largest SPR 
drawdown in history. At the unprecedented pace of SPR sales, 
the Reserve is projected to decline from its peak of 727 
million barrels, to approximately 130 million barrels by 2031.
    The Biden administration is depleting the nation's 
petroleum reserves, while allowing OPEC, Russia, and China to 
gain geopolitical leverage over the United States. In November 
2021, President Biden announced a 50-million-barrel release 
from the SPR that was supposed to be in tandem with other 
importing countries, including China.\1\ In reality, China 
ramped up its purchases of crude oil from Russia and the United 
States to boost its own reserves, even as oil prices surged and 
President Biden called for a coordinated release.\2\ China is 
reportedly in talks with Russia to buy even more oil for its 
strategic reserves, while the United States and the E.U. 
pledged to ban Russian imports.\3\ As a result, China may now 
control the world's largest stockpile of oil, with total crude 
inventories estimated at 950 million barrels.
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    \1\The White House, Briefing Room. (23 November 2021). President 
Biden Announces Release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve As Part of 
Ongoing Efforts to Lower Prices and Address Lack of Supply Around the 
World.
    \2\Aizhu, Chen. ``China boosts oil reserves, ignoring U.S. push for 
global release.'' Reuters, 27 February 2022. https://www.reuters.com/
business/energy/exclusive-china-boosts-oil-reserves-ignoring-us-push-
global-release-2022-02-25/.
    \3\Kitanaka, Anna. ``China in Talks with Russia to Buy Oil for 
Strategic Reserves.'' Bloomberg, 19 May 2022. https://
www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-19/china-in-talks-with-russia-
to-buy-oil-for-strategic-reserves.
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    H. Res. 1260 is necessary because President Biden and DOE 
have failed to adequately respond to requests for information 
from Energy and Commerce Committee Members related to DOE's 
mismanagement of the SPR, and the Committee Majority has failed 
to conduct hearings to examine the administration's failings. 
On June 2, 2022, Republican Leaders' Rodgers and Upton wrote to 
DOE with questions related to DOE's performance of its 
statutory responsibilities.\4\ Regrettably, DOE failed to 
address any specific questions relating to SPR, preventing 
Congress from gathering facts and conducting oversight.
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    \4\Letter from Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers and 
Representative Fred Upton to the Honorable Jennifer Granholm, Secretary 
of Energy, (June 2, 2022), available at: https://republicans-
energycommerce.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/06.02.2022-Energy-
and-Commerce-Strategic-Petroleum-Reserve-Letter.pdf.
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    For these reasons, we support H. Res. 1260 and offer these 
dissenting views.
                                    Cathy McMorris Rodgers,
               Republican Leader, Committee on Energy and Commerce.

                                  [all]