{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=6EA2565D-5ED2-40A8-9B18-02111B7543AB", "Democrats Blocking American Energy, Raising Prices, and Draining our Emergency Reserve", "2022-09-29", "2022", "2022-09", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", "mcconnell", "https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding energy:\n\n\u201cFamilies across America have felt the brunt of this all-Democratic government\u2019s failed energy policies.\n\n\u201cWhen gas prices were skyrocketing, the Biden Administration insisted up and down they had no control over them. When the prices started to level off, the same politicians asked for a round of applause.\n\n\u201cFunny how that works.\n\n\u201cHere\u2019s what working families in Kentucky know: That a gallon of gas costs over a full dollar more than before President Biden took office.\n\n\u201cAmerican families and small businesses know their electricity bills skyrocketed this spring and summer.\n\n\u201cAnd they know that heating costs on Democrats\u2019 watch this fall and winter may be catastrophic.\n\n\u201cJust like our overall 13.2% inflation since January 2021 is directly traceable to Democrats\u2019 reckless spending, a lot of our energy crisis is traceable to Democrats\u2019 shortsighted policies.\n\n\u201cDemocrats have spent 20 years saying we shouldn\u2019t explore for American energy. That our abundant fossil fuel resources should stay in the ground.\n\n\u201cJust in the last two years, Democrats overwhelmingly voted two separate times to let the Biden E.P.A. ban fracking. One analysis showed the kind of fracking ban Democrats want quadruple household energy bills!\n\n\u201cDemocrats supported President Biden\u2019s de facto bans on both offshore and onshore oil and gas leasing.\n\n\u201cThey backed President Biden\u2019s decision to cancel Keystone XL. I guess it\u2019s better to import Middle Eastern crude than safely transport oil from Canada.\n\n\u201cThey voted for reckless tax hikes, including a natural gas tax that will directly drive up families\u2019 heating costs.\n\n\u201cAnd this week marks the six-month anniversary of when President Biden began his reckless draining of our Strategic Petroleum Reserve in a desperate attempt to buy up his poll numbers.\n\n\u201cPresident Biden has already released more than 200 million barrels from the Reserve into the international market, more than all other Presidents combined.\n\n\u201cA few days ago he promised to release an additional 10 million barrels in early November.\n\n\u201cOur country established the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as a lifeline for national security crises. Until now, Presidents had only ever tapped it for armed conflicts or natural disasters.\n\n\u201cNow Democrats are emptying out our emergency reserves in a desperate attempt to save their political skins. Reckless and cynical does not even begin to cover it.\n\n\u201cNow the Reserve sits at its lowest point since 1984. If our country were cut off from oil imports tomorrow, we\u2019d have less than two months\u2019 supply.\n\n\u201cAnd remember, Madam President \u2014 two years ago, in the early COVID crisis, when markets were temporarily crashing and oil was selling for bargain-basement prices like we\u2019d never seen, Republicans tried to refill the Strategic Reserve to the top.\n\n\u201cIt would have been a win for economic stability, a win for national security, and a huge win for taxpayers. Oil was on clearance sale and we could have filled the Reserve to the top.\n\n\u201cBut Senate Democrats blocked it. And bragged about blocking it. Leader Schumer boasted in writing that he\u2019d blocked a \u2018bailout for big oil.\u2019\n\n\u201cTypical tired, old liberal rhetoric. What our Democratic colleagues blocked was an unbelievably good deal for the American people.\n\n\u201cNow they\u2019re draining the Reserve they wouldn\u2019t let us refill. And when they do need to refill it, you better believe taxpayers won\u2019t be paying March 2020 prices.\n\n\u201cShortsighted, ineffective, and bad economics. That\u2019s Democrats\u2019 energy policies in microcosm.\n\n\u201cWorking Americans pay the price every day.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:29:59Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=6EA2565D-5ED2-40A8-9B18-02111B7543AB"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7757109124213457, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}