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Krishnamoorthi seeks immediate release of petroleum reserve to offset soaring prices
He blamed Trump’s Iran war for the sharp oil price jump and criticized the administration's indifferent response.
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Anushka Pathak - Tue, 10, Mar 2026
- 11:41 EDT
- 26
Raja Krishnamoorthi / krishnamoorthi.house.gov
Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi on March 9 has called on President Trump to immediately release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) following a dramatic weekend surge in global oil prices.
“Because of President Trump’s war in Iran, the average price per gallon in Illinois has soared by nearly fifty cents in just the past month,” Krishnamoorthi stated.
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The Illinois Democrat claimed the administration was indifferent to rising prices, noting that while President Trump might characterize the increases as a “very small price to pay,” everyday families struggling to afford fuel see the situation very differently.
Krishnamoorthi accused the president of launching the conflict without any coherent strategy, no clear plan for resolution, and little apparent regard for the economic consequences borne by working Americans.
The congressman emphasized the urgency of intervention to ease pressure at the pump, formally demanding that the White House act without delay.
“Today, I am calling on the White House to immediately tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to reduce the price of gas,” he declared.
Krishnamoorthi pointed to precedent for such action, observing that the reserve was previously accessed at the outset of the war in Ukraine to stabilize markets during a period of disruption.
He described the current administration’s reluctance to draw from the reserve as baffling given the parallels to that earlier crisis.
“President Trump’s failure to tap the Reserve — which we did most recently when the war in Ukraine began — is inexplicable,” Krishnamoorthi said.
The lawmaker underscored that Illinois residents had not supported or requested involvement in the Iran conflict and should not be left to shoulder its financial fallout through elevated gasoline prices.
“It’s simple: Illinois families did not want President Trump’s war, and they certainly should not be forced to pay for President Trump’s war,” he concluded.
The SPR, managed by the U.S. Department of Energy and stored in underground salt caverns primarily in Texas and Louisiana, functions as the nation’s primary emergency oil stockpile to counter supply shocks from geopolitical events or other disruptions.
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