On Friday, the U.S. Department Energy outlined a plan to stop oil deposits to the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve beginning in July, a proposal which Congressman Goodlatte first suggested in 2004 when gas prices began to steadily increase.

Congressman Goodlatte drafted multiple letters to President Bush and obtained signatures from 65 Members of Congress. The letters urged the President to suspend shipments of oil to the SPR and allow more oil to remain on the market and available to consumers when supplies are tight.

“Prices at the pump continue to escalate, which is why we need a legitimate policy discussion regarding American energy policy and how we can bring folks some relief,” says Goodlatte. “I am pleased that the Administration has decided to suspend shipments to the SPR in an effort to lower gasoline prices at the pump. Filling the SPR, without regard to crude oil prices and the availability of supplies, drives oil prices higher and ultimately hurts consumers.”

In his letters, Goodlatte urged the “Department of Energy to review and revert back to its previous policy of filling the SPR when crude oil prices are relatively low and deferring oil deliveries when prices are relatively high.”

The SPR, which is managed by the Department of Energy, was authorized by Congress in 1975 in an effort to prevent a repetition of the economic crisis brought on by the 1973-1974 Arab oil embargo.