Dems Push WH to Tap Oil Reserve

The Hill reports:

House Democrats, citing the continued rise in gasoline prices, are renewing their pressure on the White House to release oil from the federal Strategic Petroleum Reserve — a step that President Obama hasn’t ruled out but hasn’t shown great appetite for either.

In a letter to Obama Tuesday, 17 Democrats — including Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), who is a senior Energy and Commerce Committee member, and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who co-chairs the Democrats’ Steering and Policy Committee – say the continued unrest in the Middle East should prompt use of the strategic supply.

It’s the latest of several Democratic efforts in recent months to pressure the Obama administration into tapping the reserve.

The letter notes the connection between oil prices and prices at the pump.

“While Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members with available spare production capacity have pledged to raise production for lost Libyan crude, they also profit from oil price spikes and therefore have little incentive to quickly respond with the increased supply needed to calm markets,” the letter states.

“However, one tool that the United States has at its disposal to protect against the threat of supply disruptions and related speculation in the oil markets is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve,” it adds.