The Senate approved a ban on Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) oil sales to China, amending the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in a move introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) earlier in July.
After the approval, Cruz tweeted, “Proud to have earned a major, bipartisan victory in the Senate today to protect America's energy independence and national security from the threats of the Chinese Communist Party.”
According to the Washington Examiner, President Joe Biden ordered the sale of 180 million barrels of crude oil from the SPR last year. This was the largest SPR sale since 1983 and has caused fear over the administration's ability to refill the reserves quickly enough. While technological advancements in fracking have made it faster to acquire crude oil, the reserve loss will take time to replenish. As a result of the sale, SPR levels are at their lowest in 40 years.
The Energy Information Administration shows that the U.S. has sporadically sold small amounts of crude oil to China for several decades, according to the Department of Energy. However, since 2020, the U.S. has exported over 350 million barrels of crude oil to China alone. This is a significant shift from previous decades.
Cruz recently posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, saying, “China has been amassing the largest stockpile of crude in the world.” He added that “our own reserves have fallen to only 347 million barrels, the lowest since 1983. Last year, the United States sold off part of our reserves to China.”
According to a press release on his website, Cruz introduced his recent amendment, which would prohibit the Department of Energy (DOE) from selling crude oil from the SPR to organizations affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in any way. He said, “The original intent of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was to ensure that America had sufficient oil reserves in the event of an emergency. We are unnecessarily and dangerously undermining our national security in any instance that we sell any part of this stockpile to the Chinese Communist Party or any company under its control.”
According to the Washington Examiner, the new amendment, led by Cruz as well as Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), would not only ban the sale of crude oil to the CCP but would also ban sales to other countries currently sanctioned by the U.S. such as Russia, Iran and North Korea. The Examiner noted that the Senate voted 85-14 to approve the legislation.
After its approval, the House and the Senate will meet to work out a final bill, which Biden would then pass to become law.
