**Kuster helped introduce this legislation in the 117th Congress as well**

Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Annie Kuster (NH-02) helped reintroduce the Buy Low and Sell High Act for the 118th Congress. The legislation creates an Economic Petroleum Reserve designed to lower gasoline prices and make money for American taxpayers by empowering the Department of Energy (DOE) to buy oil when prices are low and sell oil when prices are high. 

Rep. Kuster helped reintroduce this legislation alongside Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ), the bill’s sponsor, and Reps. Angie Craig (D-MN), Jason Crow (D-CO), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), and David Trone (D-MD).

“American energy independence is key to protecting consumers in New Hampshire and all across the country from volatile gas prices,” said Rep. Kuster, a senior Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “This legislation will strengthen our national security and protect our economy from the unpredictable oil market controlled primarily by adversarial foreign governments and put us on a path toward a more secure energy future. I am proud to help reintroduce this measure that is a win-win for our economy, environment, and all Granite Staters.”

“This legislation proposes meaningful, thoughtful solutions for managing our SPR – including by empowering DOE to buy oil when prices are low and sell when prices are high,” said Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “Not only would this measure protect drivers from price fluctuations and make money for taxpayers, but it also uses the proceeds from those sales to build out our nation’s electric vehicle infrastructure. It’s a win-win, and I’m proud to have partnered with Congresswoman Kuster on introducing this commonsense legislation.”

After the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil embargo of 1973 – 1974, Congress created the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to insulate Americans from global oil supply disruptions. While President Biden has successfully used the SPR to lower gas prices – which have fallen more than $1.69 per gallon since June – new authorities are needed to ensure that OPEC and Russia cannot continue to manipulate global oil prices to the detriment of American consumers.

The Buy Low and Sell High Act gives the President the ability to better protect American consumers by designating a subset of the SPR as the “Economic Petroleum Reserve” (EPR). It grants DOE the ability to sell barrels from the EPR when prices are high – above $90 per barrel – ensuring that Americans get immediate price relief instead of waiting months or years. DOE would then also have the authority to purchase oil for the EPR when prices are low – below $60 per barrel – to refill our reserves at a lower cost.

The new EPR would consist of up to 350 million barrels of oil. A recent Wall Street Journal analysis found that the United States made nearly $4 billion in profit from President Biden’s recent SPR sales.

In addition to creating the EPR, this bill also:

• Prohibits barrels stored within the SPR from being exported or sold to entities owned, controlled, or influenced by China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, or any other country under U.S. sanctions;
• Establishes strategic gasoline and diesel reserves in every region of the United States, ensuring product can be deployed immediately during emergencies, such as the Colonial Pipeline malware attack;
• Reduces our reliance on foreign oil and empowers states to lead the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) by investing profits from oil sales in state EV infrastructure programs; and
• Ensures that the federal government leads by example and sets targets for acquiring a fully zero-emission federal vehicle fleet.

The full bill text can be found HERE and a section-by-section HERE.

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