The Strategic Petroleum Reserve has been depleted to low levels by the Biden administration.
Armstrong said, “[W]e absolutely should put sanctions on Iran, and we should be doing everything we can to help the only democracy in the Middle East and our closest ally, but it’s going to come at a cost.”
Instead of hosting a backyard BBQ and calling a lid at noon today, the Biden administration needs to show U.S. leadership to the world. pic.twitter.com/E31cODElyL
— Congressman Kelly Armstrong (@RepArmstrongND) October 9, 2023
Armstrong called for sanctions on Iran and support for Israel, but noted that this would come at a cost.
The depletion of the reserve means that there is only 17 days worth of supply, which is about half the average amount.
“Natural gas prices in Europe were up…oil’s up…at a time when energy is already driving most of the inflation that Americans are feeling. And now we have an absolute conflict in the Middle East after the terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel,” he continued.
Armstrong believes that this is the worst possible time to have a low reserve and blames the Biden administration for the situation.
“So, we’re — And to top it all off, we have 17 days worth of supply in the strategic oil reserve, because the Biden administration has drawn it down for political reasons.”
Host Elizabeth MacDonald asked, “So, is there any worse time to have [a] historically low and depleted Strategic Reserve right now?”
Armstrong answered, “No, absolutely not. … I don’t know what oil we’d use to fill it.”
“They stopped drilling in North Dakota on federal leases. We’ve had all of the different problems that have existed under this administration.”
“But, at a time when our closest ally in the Middle East really needs our help, Americans are going to see a shock to their energy prices, and you can take it all back to the Biden administration.”