Congress to Close and Empty Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve in Latest Budget Bill

As congress bickers over that last give aways in the latest budget bill, this gem appears contrived. For what purpose?

In the scenario of the mega bill why this? One has to wonder whose long fingers were the creators of this gem. A million barrel reserve isn’t much, so what is the deal? This is one to follow the money….and authorship. 

The Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve, established in 2014 after Hurricane Sandy, is a one million barrel emergency reserve to provide supplemental supplies for a few days in the event of a hurricane or other disruption. However, the fiscal 2024 government funding legislation requires the reserve to be sold and closed. The writer of this nonsense even took the time to insert in the bill language to make sure it’s almost impossible for Trump to reopen it or create another reserve.

 

Zero Hedge:

On Sunday night, Congressional negotiators revealed a bill which will fund key parts of the government through the rest of the fiscal year which began in October.

According to Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer’s office, the bill “maintains the aggressive investments Democrats secured for American families, American workers, and America’s national defense.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement that “House Republicans secured key conservative policy victories, rejected left-wing proposals, and imposed sharp cuts to agencies and programs critical to the President Biden’s agenda.”

But what neither of them mention is that the bill also nukes the entire Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve – which, at roughly 1 million barrels, is too small to matter on a national scale – but which could serve as a critical cache of energy in the event of another major disaster.

The entire US 1 million barrel Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve will be required to be sold and closed in fiscal 2024, according to bill text of government funding legislation unveiled Sunday Did China write this bill? https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20240304/HMS31169.PDF

Is there any logical explanation?

Let’s make the Northeast as vulnerable as possible?

This means the Northeast will lose a crucial buffer that could have provided supplemental supplies during disruptions. According to the Energy Information Administration, the Northeast region (New England and the Middle Atlantic) consumed an average of 5.8 million barrels of gasoline per day in 2023. The Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve’s one million barrels would have only provided a small portion of the daily consumption in the region. Losing this reserve may increase the vulnerability of the Northeast to disruptions from hurricanes or other events.

Another thought?

They’re depleting the reserves and requiring Congressional approval to refill them so Dems in Congress can prevent Trump from refilling them, then blame him for the crisis they intentionally created. It’s all so blatant and obvious now.

Not just sell it, they then have to close the entire reserve infrastructure it looks like, and never open one again.

Then, the bill makes it even harder to establish regional reserves in the future – requiring several new layers of red tape. 

And the SPR is currently the lowest it’s been since the mid 80s

Rounding out the absurdity of this whole thing, let’s hear from another government savant. This was from a year ago:

We live only for the day apparently.

Democrat Sen. Maggie Hassan Wants To Drain The Northeast’s “Heating Fuel Reserve”

They will tell us it’s just the way the sausage is made… paging Speaker Johnson? Johnson???? As Nancy said, “we have to pass the bill to find what is inside it.” I am sure there will be more to be found.

The very best of the swamp