Senate urges pressure on Saudi Arabia to increase oil production

Five senators held a press conference today immediately following a vote on a Democratic proposal to “suspend filling the nearly full Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in order to increase supply and lower energy prices,” the official release said. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) said that Saudi Arabia currently produces nearly two million barrels of oil per day below capacity, and said that prices would likely lower by 50 cents per gallon in the next month or two if they increased production by just one million barrels per day. Schumer said that himself and the other senators wanted to present President Bush with a “motion of disapproval” of the Saudi arms deal, and urge him to put pressure on the Saudis to increase productivity and lower prices as he leaves for his trip to the Middle East today. “We are saying to the Saudis that ‘if you don’t help us, why should we be helping you?’” Schumer said. “You need our arms, but we need you to cooperate and not strangle American consumers.”

Sen. Bernard Sanders (D-VT) said that OPEC functions as a cartel, and that it is time for Pres. Bush to say to OPEC that “we are going to challenge their very existence,” so they can no longer “limit production and artificially raise prices.” Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) said that Bush “needs to demonstrate leadership,” and while he is “talking to the Saudis about oil production as he should, he should have done it long ago.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) said that she is “pleased” that the Senate was able to pass the amendment today, but she “would rather see a comprehensive package.” She added, “but if we’re going to have to do it one scrap at a time, that’s how we’ll do it.”