The bill passed 331-97, as members from both sides of the aisle rally around an increasingly protectionist stance against China, the world's second largest economy., to counteract energy price spikes following the war in Ukraine and the rise in economic activity coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a speech on the House floor Thursday, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said millions of barrels of crude from those sales had ended up in China. "Draining our strategic reserves for political purposes and selling it to China is a significant threat to our national and energy security," she said."This must be stopped, which is why I’m proud to join my Republican colleagues in passing H.R. 22, one of the most bipartisan votes on an energy bill in many years."
Under existing federal law, the Department of Energy is required to sell oil from the reserve, which is located in underground salt caves in Texas and Louisiana, to the highest bidder, according to a department spokesperson. "The Biden administration, like administrations of both parties have historically done, rightly authorized emergency use of the SPR mission to address supply disruptions," the spokesperson said."Since 2017 the vast majority of oil sold from the reserve is sold to American entities.”introduced similar legislation last summer,"China cannot be allowed to profit from our emergency energy reserves," he said.
Selling our reserves to China was stupid at minimum possibly treasonous with Bidens ties to China.