Fourteen Senate Democrats voted against an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which would ban the federal government from selling strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) oil to America’s adversaries if it becomes law.
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas authored the amendment, which would bar Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm from drawing down oil from the SPR to sell to any entity that is under the control of the Chinese Communist Party, Russia, North Korea or Iran. Democrats who voted against the amendment include Sens. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Corey Booker of New Jersey, Benjamin Cardin of Maryland and Dick Durbin of Illinois.
The amendment passed the Senate by an 85-14 vote, indicating wide bipartisan support for the restrictions on SPR supply making its way into the hands of nations adversarial to the U.S. Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania joined Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa as cosponsors for the amendment. (RELATED: It Could Take ‘Decades’ To Refill America’s Oil Reserves Drained By Biden, Experts Say)
EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Fallon Introduces Legislation To Stop Biden’s ‘Abuse’ Of The Strategic Petroleum Reserve https://t.co/XCryo87uTV
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 9, 2022
Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Edward Markey of Massachusetts, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Peter Welch of Vermont also voted against the amendment.
“Instead of saving for emergencies, President Biden sold off our assets to the CCP,” Ernst said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Preventing this risk that undermines American safety should not even be in question, which is why I’m proud the Senate rightly prohibited Joe Biden from selling our vital taxpayer-funded SPR supply to China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea,” she added.
The amendment follows the Biden administration’s decision to tap into the SPR in 2021 and 2022, which resulted in the sale of nearly six million barrels of oil to a state-owned Chinese energy company. The administration also sold millions of barrels of SPR oil to the Netherlands, India and other nations, according to Reuters.
“This amendment claims to solve a problem while mainly having the result of padding and protecting oil industry profits,” he said this afternoon in floor remarks,” Murphy, who voted against the amendment, said Thursday on the Senate floor, according to The Washington Examiner.
None of the offices of the 14 Democrats who voted against the amendment immediately responded to requests for comment. The Department of Energy also did not immediately respond.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect that Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin voted against the amendment.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.