Dear Neighbors,
President Biden announced this week that he will release 15 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to provide relief to Americans facing high gas prices as a result of the latest manipulation of the global oil market by OPEC. OPEC is doing this in an effort to weaponize oil prices in service of Russia and its illegal war on Ukraine. By deliberately squeezing the global oil market dry of supply, they are raising our gas prices for their profit.
I commend President Biden for taking decisive action to provide relief to the American people. Families cannot afford to bear the burden of these unpredictable price spikes. Read more here
Last month, I introduced the Buy Low and Sell High Act, legislation that would create a new Economic Petroleum Reserve specifically designed to combat the kind of price manipulations OPEC is taking. The bill would reduce and stabilize gasoline prices, insulate Americans from foreign adversaries’ price manipulations, and make money for taxpayers by buying oil when prices are low and selling oil when prices are high.
It also uses the proceeds from these sales to build out our nation’s EV infrastructure and help us transition away from volatile fossil fuels. Finally, the legislation reverses Republican-enacted policies that have allowed SPR oil to flow to China and other adversaries. Read more here
Student Loan Forgiveness Portal is Now Open
The portal to apply for student loan forgiveness is now officially open. The Biden Administration is providing up to $10,000 in federal student debt relief for eligible borrowers and up to $20,000 in relief if you received a Pell Grant. Go to studentaid.gov for more information and to apply. If you qualify, the application takes less than 5 minutes. You don’t need to log in with an ID or to upload any documents. It’s available on your phone and desktop and in both English and Spanish.
