Wednesday September 27 2:10 PM ET

Republicans Aim to Block Oil Release

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican lawmakers, including the head of the House of Representatives energy subcommittee Joe Barton, are looking at legislation and other ways to stop the White House from releasing 30 million barrels of stockpiled oil, a Barton aide said Wednesday.

The Republican proposal comes near the end of this year's congressional session, and legislative sources said the plan would not likely be acted on, considering the logjam of mandatory spending bills before the House and Senate.

Lawmakers plan to adjourn for the year on Oct. 6.

Barton, a Texas Republican, scheduled a news conference for Thursday morning to discuss what options were available, the aide said.

``They are looking at what measures are possible to try and stop the Strategic Petroleum Reserve release,'' the aide said.

Barton and other lawmakers were meeting Wednesday to prepare their plan, she said.

The Clinton administration's plan to release the emergency oil has been criticized by Republicans as a political ploy to help Vice President Al Gore (news - web sites) win the presidential election on Nov. 7.

Some lawmakers have complained the White House action broke the law.

Oklahoma Sen. Don Nickles, a Republican, said Tuesday that the mid-1970s law which created the Strategic Petroleum Reserve specifically permitted withdrawals of emergency oil only to cope with supply problems -- not to lower prices.

The U.S. Energy Department began accepting bids this week from energy companies for ``swaps'' of crude oil from the stockpile. Under the plan, participating companies must promise to restock the reserve in 2001 with slightly more oil than they borrow now.

Deliveries from the vast underground caves where the oil is stored could begin as soon as Oct. 9, with most of the 30 million barrels due to reach the market by the end of October, according to Energy Department officials.

Earlier Thursday, President Clinton (news - web sites) defended the use of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, calling it a ``prudent'' action to help move prices toward OPEC (news - web sites)'s target range of $22 to $28 a barrel.

U.S. crude oil futures soared to a 10-year high of nearly $38 a barrel last week before easing below $32 a barrel on news that Washington would inject the extra oil into the market.

The stockpile was last tapped for an emergency by President George Bush during the Gulf War. It has been used more than a half-dozen other times to temporarily loan oil to U.S. refiners having unexpected shipping or supply problems.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000927/bs/oil_republicans_dc_1.html

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), September 27, 2000

Answers

President Clinton does so much governing by executive order that maybe it is time to question this authority.

-- LillyLP (lillyLP@aol.com), September 27, 2000.