I 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5405 
To provide the Secretary of Energy with authority to draw down the Strategic 
Petroleum Reserve when oil and gas prices in the United States rise 
sharply because of anticompetitive activity, and to require the President, 
through the Secretary of Energy, to consult with Congress regarding 
the sale of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 19, 2004 
Mr. LARSON of Connecticut introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To provide the Secretary of Energy with authority to draw 
down the Strategic Petroleum Reserve when oil and gas 
prices in the United States rise sharply because of anti-
competitive activity, and to require the President, 
through the Secretary of Energy, to consult with Con-
gress regarding the sale of oil from the Strategic Petro-
leum Reserve. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Oil Price Safeguard 
Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) a sharp, sustained increase in the price of 
crude oil would negatively affect the overall economic 
well-being of the United States; 
(2) the United States currently imports roughly 
55 percent of its oil; 
(3) heating oil price increases disproportionately 
harm the poor and the elderly; and 
(4) the global oil market is often greatly influ-
enced by nonmarket-based supply manipulations, in-
cluding price fixing and production quotas. 
SEC. 3. DRAWDOWN OF STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE. 
Section 161(d) of the Energy Policy and Conserva-
tion Act (42 U.S.C. 6241(d)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘(3) REDUCTION
IN SUPPLY CAUSED
BY ANTI-
COMPETITIVE CONDUCT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of this 
section, in addition to the circumstances set forth in 
section 3(8) and in paragraph (2) of this subsection, 
a severe energy supply interruption shall be deemed 
to exist if the President determines that— 
‘‘(i) there is a significant reduction in sup-
ply that—
‘‘(I) is of significant scope and dura-
tion; and 
‘‘(II) has caused a significant increase 
in the price of petroleum products; 
‘‘(ii) the increase in price is likely to cause 
a significant adverse impact on the national 
economy; and 
‘‘(iii) a substantial cause of the reduction 
in supply is the anticompetitive conduct of 1 or 
more foreign countries or international entities. 
‘‘(B) DEPOSIT AND USE OF PROCEEDS.—Pro-
ceeds from the sale of petroleum drawn down pursu-
ant to a Presidential determination under subpara-
graph (A) shall— 
‘‘(i) be deposited in the SPR Petroleum 
Account; and 
‘‘(ii) be used only for the purposes speci-
fied in section 167.’’. 
SEC. 4. REPORTING AND CONSULTATION REQUIREMENTS. 
If the price of a barrel of crude oil exceeds $35 (in 
constant 2003 United States dollars) for a period greater 
than 14 days, the President, through the Secretary of En-
ergy, shall, not later than 30 days after the end of the 
14-day period, submit to the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on
Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 
a report that— 
(1) states the results of a comprehensive review 
of the causes and potential consequences of the price 
increase; 
(2) provides an estimate of the likely duration 
of the price increase, based on analyses and fore-
casts of the Energy Information Administration; 
(3) provides an analysis of the effects of the 
price increase on the cost of home heating oil; and 
(4) states whether, and provides a specific ra-
tionale for why, the President does or does not sup-
port the drawdown and distribution of a specified 
amount of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. 
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