Senate Democrats Block Spending Bill Amendment That Would Prevent Oil Sales to China

A total of 46 Senate Democrats recently rejected a Republican legislative amendment to block the Biden administration from selling oil from the U.S. strategic reserve to the Chinese regime.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) offered the amendment during a “vote-a-rama” process, which lasted nearly 16 hours from the evening of Aug. 6 until the afternoon of Aug. 7, when senators voted on many amendments and motions for a Democratic-led piece of legislation known as the “Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.”

The legislation, a mammoth spending measure totaling $740 billion on climate and energy, health care, and taxes, was approved on Aug. 7 by a party-line vote of 51–50, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote. The House could give the legislation final approval on Aug. 12, when lawmakers reconvene briefly from summer recess.

Before the passage of the legislation, Cruz urged his Democratic colleagues to support his amendment, reminding them that the Biden administration has sold millions of barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to China.

“That oil was paid for by U.S. taxpayers,” Cruz said on the Senate floor. “My bill would block the president from selling our oil to the Chinese communists.

“I would note also that it was sold to a Chinese company owned by the communist government, in which a significant stake was owned by a private equity firm, owned in significant part by the president’s own son, Hunter Biden.

“If the Democrats don’t want to see millions of barrels of U.S. oil sold to the Chinese communists, they should support my amendment.”

Hunter Biden walks to Marine One on the Ellipse outside the White House on May 22, 2021. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sold nearly 6 million barrels of oil from the SPR from September

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