President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced a series of steps aimed at easing the oil supply crunch and lower gas prices, which have become a major domestic concern ahead of the November midterms.
Biden confirmed the release of 15 million barrels from the nation’s stockpile — known as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — in December. “With my announcement today we’re going to continue to stabilize markets and decrease the prices at a time when the actions of other countries have caused so much volatility,” Biden said from the Roosevelt Room.
This isn’t a new tranche, administration officials told reporters earlier, but rather the final 15 million barrels from the 180 million that Biden pledged this spring to release over six months.
Biden on Wednesday also said the administration is taking the unusual step of planning to buy oil to rebuild the strategic reserve once crude falls below $70 per barrel. Officials said that step is meant to send a clear signal to the market and incentivize domestic oil production.
To that end, Biden also went after oil companies on Wednesday — accusing them, as he has in the past, of price gouging at a time of historic profits. “You should not be using your profits to buy back stocks or for dividends,” Biden said in remarks directed to energy companies.
