Why is Bush against putting a freeze on taking oil out of the market vs adding more to the reserves?

What is planning to do with the oil in reserve? Isn't now a good time to turn off the reserve spigot and add the oil that would go into the reserve to the market to lower prices?Why is Bush against putting a freeze on taking oil out of the market vs adding more to the reserves?
W suffers from cranial anal inversion. He should have filled the SPR when crude was at $18 a barrel. Instead he does it at $120. He's probably right, though, that dipping into the SPR right now would have little impact on prices. I always thought that's what Iraq was for.Why is Bush against putting a freeze on taking oil out of the market vs adding more to the reserves?
The reserves are nearly full anyway, and they are full as they have ever been hitting a new record on April 2, 2008 of 702 million barrels. They will only hold 720 million barrels at most, and then you are going to need to find some new salt dome caverns.





As far as I can see, his reluctance to stop filling the reserves is purely political at this point. He stopped it in 2002, 2004 and 2006 when the Republicans thought it might help them retain control of Congress.





Based on the latest email from the RNC, the last thing they want to happen is for prices to come down (however little) because they cynically intend to blame democrats in Congress for the price of oil. How lame is that?








On the other hand, I don't know how much it will help amid all the commodities speculation, but it might give some speculators reason to pause for the time being. You still have the bigger problem of the financials market and declining dollar to contend with, and investors tend not to behave rationally sometimes. I think George Soros called the principle reflexivity. We are in a period when investors and fund managers are investing according to reflexive, habitual strategies.
';What I think the president ought to do is he ought to get on the phone with the OPEC cartel and say we expect you to open your spigots...And the president of the United States must jawbone OPEC members to lower the price...





I would work with our friends in OPEC to convince them to open up the spigot, to increase the supply,'; Mr. Bush, the presumptive Republican candidate for president, told reporters here today. ';Use the capital that my administration will earn, with the Kuwaitis or the Saudis, and convince them to open up the spigot.';





GW Bush, Biggest Liar in the History of the United States


June, 2000
Neither Bush nor Cheney care less about the Country when it comes to oil prices and neither of them care less when it comes to the Republican Party. They want the oil price to go higher.





Bush was an oil executive. Cheney was an oil field services executive.





Bush is from Texas and Cheney is from Wyoming - both oil states.





Bush's father was an oil executive.





Bush's father as RWR's Veep clashed with him over RWR's low oil price policy. RWR prevailed and the USSR collapsed.





Bush/Cheney does not give up their price support program for oil - the purchasing for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve - until the Senate is voting 97/1 against it.





But most significantly, we control Iraq, the sometime 3rd biggest oil producer, which is pumping next to nothing. It is a key member of OPEC. Six years later it is still not producing as much as it was under Saddam Hussein who was subject to sanctions.





When Bush/Cheney are gone, the oil price will come down. Sadly, Senators Obama and Clinton are pushing higher taxes, higher trade barriers and more regulation. This was liberal Republican's Herber Hoover's policy package that turned a minor downturn into the Great Depression.
Neither side of this issue makes much sense. The extra little bit to fill up the reserves to the full two month level isn't going to make much difference in an emergency, but the extra little bit going to the market instead isn't going to impact the prices much at all either.





It's essentially a non-issue either way. Any reduction in gas prices will turnaround and bite back because people will swarm the stations and the increased demand will raise the prices back up.
Because it might actualy bring the oil prices down, and take a bite out of big oil's profits.


If you didn't notice price really started jumping when he ordered them things kept full.





Interesting how Republicans think more oil on the market from drilling up America will drop the price of oil, except when it comes from the oil reserves. Then it will nothing.





I'm starting to wonder if Repubicans even know what logic is, especially after reading about McCain's self-conflicting actions in regards to gun control.
It's sad to say this, but Bush's tactic is too get the oil in as short a supply as possible to keep the profits flowing to big oil. Bush, his family and friends are benefiting greatly from the oil profits- Bush's family fortune came from oil- He owns a tremendous amount of stock in the major oil companies. He and his oil rich friends are making billions off the oil prices at this time.
That oil that we would get wouldn't keep us going for an hour, so putting it in the reserve is the more prudent thing to do. This is just yet another bonehead idea out of congress to make it look like they are doing something, when in fact they aren't. In other words business as usual. Why isn't congress at least talking about lowering the gas tax? Lower it even a nickle. This will benefit more people than diverting the oil to the reserves.
The oil reserves are there for a purpose....


ever hear of an EMERGENCY? We're


beginning to hear of more and more of them now; and in this dangerous world, the


president cannot let go of this important


comadity reserve. If we then needed it for


such an emergency and didn't have it, then


all the people would scream bloody murder


about him squandering our reserves.
I don't think it would make a difference. The best thing would be for everyone to conserve as much as possible by driving less, using public transportation, riding bicycles, carpooling, etc. It's a shame that people didn't think about the future when purchasing gigantic SUV's and buying houses 30 or more miles from their work. Working from home is an option more and more people should look into. If we all do our part, the prices may not go down, but we could reduce consumption and limit the pollutants going into the air.
U need to get some economics training. The US uses 20 million barrels a day what is being added to the reserve is 70,000 barrels a day this would have very little impact on the price of gas. And if oil is to hit $200.00 per barrel by next year , wouldn't be better to fill the reserves now at $126.00 than at $200.00? besides the fact we are 97% of our oil reserves.
No it is not a good time to stop filling the reserves. They were established for a good reason. In the 70's the Arabs and what is now OPEC stopped shipping oil to the US. We were in rather desperate straights because of this. People were waiting in line for hours to get fuel and half the time it was not available. We had to post armed guards to watch our trucks at night since thieves would syphon the fuel out of the tanks.


The strategic reserves are there to make certain that we will always have enough fuel for the military and for emergency needs It would be short sighted to stop filling them now, while we can.


The oil going to the reserves represents only .01% of our total fuel use in the US so it really will make no noticeable difference in fuel costs. The whole business is another stupid political move by Congress. It makes a lot noise but does nothing constructive.


We are putting about 85,000 barrels of oil in the reserves daily. If we drilled in ANWR we could get 1,500,000 barrels daily.


Still, the Congress will not allow drilling in ANWR or offshore.


Neither will the Congress ease regulations which will allow oil companies to build more refineries which we need so badly.


Nor will the Congress pass laws making it easier and less costly to build nuclear power plants which could allow us to use less oil and natiural gas. They say nuclear power is dangerous yet there has NEVER been a nuclear accident, in the US or Europe ( France gets 50% of its power from nukes) which has cost even one life.





This move to stop filling our strategic reserves is another dumb idea from a useless Congress in an election year.





EDIT TO DUMDUM: You are aptly named. Nothing of what you say is true.


Edit to Blue T: join dumdum. He shares your level of knowledge. What you say is an argumentum ad ignoratium.
i heard one economist say if we put that 70,000 barrels a day into the market instead of putting it into the reserves, it would save us between 5-7 cents per gallon. the summer holiday tax would save us 15-20 cents per gallon. the reason for the reserves is so that we can deal with an oil shortage should supplies be disrupted. they did use some after katrina. it is another way to make us think the gov is helping us. we should all just cut back.
The Financial Times of London reported today that stopping the oil to the reserve will hurt oil prices because oil speculators think long term.





They think that if the reserve is not full, and something drastic happens to cut supply, their won't be enough oil, so that will drive up prices.





How much money to you REALLY think we'll save at the pump if we stop putting oil in the SPR?
Because it should be obvious to anyone who has kept up with Bush, by now, that he is trying his hardest to break the bank, so less is available for social security, thus creating a social security nightmare, forcing the decision to privatise and put all those funds into the hand of his wall street banker buddies.
We act like total addicts. Why don't we just spend our efforts getting independent from oil? A similar European country with similar living standard like ours like Germany, uses 1/3 of the oil per head.


Why can't we update out technologies and get more efficient. We use way to much oil and we don't need to.
Plain and simple Bush should be fired if you or i worked for the Government and performed so poorly we would have been fired a long time ago.


He does need to get on the phone with OPEC and Get our troops out of Iraq because we no longer can afford Bush!
Actually, this might be a case of Bush finally having a clue about something.





The Feds take .1% (1/10th of 1 percent) of fuel for stockpile purposes.





It's not enough to have a real impact on anything.
I would bet more oil would reach the market if we ceased Military operations in Iraq. The US Military is the world's largest single oil consumer.
If we were to face massive supply disruption, you'd change your mind on that. There's only enough oil in the SPR for a week for the US if supplies were totally cut off.
it wouldn't make a difference it would be like throwing a hand full of sand in river to try to stop a flood





The National Oil Reserve is for National Security
becuase it enriches his Big Oil buddies the longer we do it at the highest prices in the history of the world
Because that would make life easier for ordinary people. BushCo hates ordinary people and wants to see us suffer as much as possible. Bohica!
One small word -----------GREED!
It's not a good idea to mess with the SPR. Keep loading it up I say.





Bush is right.





(Folks, saying such things as ';Big Oil'; makes you look like an absolute moron.)
Because he is controlled by big oil.
He's waiting until the prices go up even higher so that he can rake in the profits