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For Immediate Release Contact: Betsy Hart
May 13, 2008 (202) 226-8555

HERSETH SANDLIN VOTES TO HALT OIL DEPOSITS IN STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE

May 13, 2008-Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Rep. Herseth Sandlin today voted to temporarily stop new deposits of oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as a way to provide short-term downward pressure on the price of gasoline. The bill, H.R. 6022, passed the House with a wide bipartisan majority. The legislation would halt new deposits for the rest of the year unless the price of oil declines below $75 per barrel.

“With the price of gas averaging around $3.65 in South Dakota, we need to take action in the short term to ease the pain South Dakotans are feeling at the pump. When the cost of a barrel of oil reached $69 in 2006, the President supported a temporary halt to filling the strategic reserve. With oil now around a record $120 a barrel, he opposes this bill, even though it has broad bipartisan support in the House and the Senate. Given the strong show of support in both chambers and across the country, I’m hopeful that the President will reconsider his position so we provide relief to hard-working Americans in the short-term as we work to lessen our dependence on foreign oil in the long-term.”

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Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin serves South Dakota in the U.S. House of Representatives. She is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate Democrats committed to fiscal discipline and strong national security, and is co-chair of the Rural Working Group, which is dedicated to raising the profile of issues important to rural America. She also serves on three committees vital to South Dakota’s interests: Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs and Natural Resources. In the 110th Congress, Rep. Herseth Sandlin was one of only 15 members appointed to serve on the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.