Coalition Letter to Congress in Support of H. R. 21, the Strategic Production Response Act
Dear Member of Congress:
We, the undersigned organizations and individuals, write to express our strong support for H.R. 21, the Strategic Production Response Act, sponsored by Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers. This commonsense bill would require that any disruption of oil supplies deemed serious enough to justify drawing down the Strategic Petroleum Reserve must also be accompanied by increased oil leasing on federal lands.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the nation’s emergency oil stockpile, is to be used when global supplies needed for the American market are disrupted, as President Biden has done in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But at the same time he is making this oil available, the President continues to oppose most new oil leasing on federal lands and offshore areas.
Granted, new leases require several years before the oil can be produced. However, opposition to a more robust leasing program on the part of some previous administrations is contributing to tight markets today. And, needless to say, the war in Ukraine is not going to be the last instance of turmoil involving one or more of the world’s major oil producers.
Making better use of the oil we can produce here in the U.S. would cushion the impact of future foreign supply disruptions. And the many thousands of well-paying oil industry jobs and lower prices for consumers–in peaceful as well as turbulent times–would be a substantial bonus.
We can continue making the Strategic Petroleum Reserve the nation’s sole response to future disruptions, or we can also utilize more of the vast oil supplies sitting beneath the lands and offshore areas currently kept off limits by the President. Relying on one without the other is a very shortsighted and self-defeating policy that the Strategic Production Response Act would fix.
For these reasons, we encourage you to support this important bill. Sincerely,
Ben Lieberman, Senior Fellow
Myron Ebell, Director Center for Energy and Environment
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Saulius “Saul” Anuzis, President
James L. Martin, Founder and Chairman
60 Plus Association
Lisa Nelson, CEO ALEC Action
Grover Norquist, President Americans for Tax Reform
Rick Perry, Chair
Carla Sands, Vice Chair
Samuel Buchan, Director
Center for Energy and Environment America First Policy Institute
Craig Richardson, President
Energy & Environment Legal Institute
Tom DeWeese, President
American Policy Center
Steven J. Allen, Vice Chairman
The Conservative Caucus
Thomas Sheahen, Chairman
Kenneth Haapala, President
Science and Environmental Policy Project
Donna Jackson, Director of Membership Development
Project 21 Black Leadership Network
Tom Harris, Executive Director
International Climate Science Coalition
Jason Isaac
Director, Life: Powered
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Brian Balfour, Senior Vice President of Research
Jon Sanders, Director, Center for Food, Power, and Life
John Locke Foundation
Isaac Orr, Policy Fellow
Center of the American Experiment
Benjamin Zycher, Senior Fellow
American Enterprise Institute (organization listed for identification purposes only)
Mark J. Carr
Channel Design Group