(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) In a yet another baffling decision, President Joe Biden and his administration have decided once more to empty out America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve in order to score political points, Fox News reported.
The administration plans to release 27 million barrels of oil into the market between the beginning of April and the end of June, bringing the SPR to its lowest levels in 40 years.
According to Phil Flynn, an analyst at the Price Futures Group, Biden and company are attempting to make sure that there is no spike in gas prices during the summer.
“Biden is front-loading SPR barrels to avoid a summer gasoline price spike,” he said.
“There are growing concerns among the Biden administration that gas prices are headed back to $4 a gallon and the president is fearful of the political heat he will have to take.”
The announcement came amidst news out of Russia that the oil giant would massively curtail production in protest of western economic sanctions.
Flynn also noted that Biden’s decision to use emergency reserves in a non-emergency will have the double-effect of also discouraging domestic oil production and national self-sufficiency.
“By pushing barrels forward from previously announced sales he is robbing Peter to pay Paul but is discouraging future U.S. oil and gas investment,” he noted.
“There should be some backlash from Republicans who are getting tired of using the SPR for political purposes and creating short-term price relief in exchange for much higher prices down the road.”
This instance will of course be far from the first time that the Biden administration has jeopardized national security for the sake of high approval ratings.
Leading up to the 2022 midterms, the administration delved into the SPR in order to lower the astronomical gas prices that were caused largely by Democrat policies.
The SPR currently stands at 371 million barrels. After the release, it will drop to 345 million barrels.
