Republicans are pushing back on President Biden after he announced he's going to tap into the nation's oil reserves.
House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy says it's a bad idea the president will pull 50 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The White House says it's a way to combat surging gas prices. However, most energy industry economists say it's only a temporary fix. Phil Barnett blames Biden’s restrictive energy policies as the core problem.
“We, this time last year, were a net exporter,” Barnett said. “We were the largest producer of oil in the world, and we were rapidly building up a greater surplus in our strategic reserves.”
A recent Bloomberg report claims the Biden Administration has already been tapping into our oil and exporting it to Asia. According to data from market intelligence firm Kpler, about 1.6 million barrels were shipped out of the U.S. in October. Barnett says if the report is true, it's another example of how Biden’s policies are benefiting China.
“It’s really a transfer of power,” he explained. “A transfer of wealth and a transfer of power from the United States to our sworn enemy.”
During a recent virtual meeting, both President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping allegedly talked about releasing oil from both countries' oil reserves but made no mention of any previous deals.