PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Congressional Research Service
No official summary is available in the imported record yet.
People & committees
Rep. Fletcher, Lizzie [D-TX-7] · D–TX
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 11, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2026-09-03 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This bill would require the Energy Secretary to request a public study of how to improve the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the federal petroleum reserve. The study would examine storage and operating changes and recommend improvements for responding to disruptions in petroleum supplies. It would inform federal agencies and Congress; the bill itself would not require those improvements to be carried out.
the Secretary of Energy shall request that the National Petroleum Council—
an analysis of opportunities to improve and modernize the physical infrastructure and operation of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to respond to petroleum product supply shocks
any recommendations for Federal agencies and Congress to improve and modernize the physical infrastructure and operation of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to respond to petroleum product supply shocks
make publicly available the report submitted under paragraph (1).
Section 1 would name the legislation the “21st Century Strategic Petroleum Reserve Act” or “21st Century SPR Act.”
This Act may be cited as the 21st Century Strategic Petroleum Reserve Act or the 21st Century SPR Act.
Within 90 days after section 2 became law, the Energy Secretary would have to ask the National Petroleum Council to prepare the report. The request would call for submission to the Secretary and Congress within one year after the request, and for public release.
Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary of Energy shall request that the National Petroleum Council— (1) not later than one year after so requested, submit to the Secretary of Energy and Congress a report containing—
(2) make publicly available the report submitted under paragraph (1).
The requested study would examine spreading reserve storage across more locations, adding storage for refined petroleum products, and increasing total storage capacity. These are topics for analysis, rather than directions to build facilities.
(A) an analysis of opportunities to improve and modernize the physical infrastructure and operation of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to respond to petroleum product supply shocks, including by— (i) expanding the geographic distribution of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; (ii) expanding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to include storage of refined petroleum products;
(v) expanding the storage capacity of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve;
The requested study would examine ending reserve sales mandated by Congress and encouraging purchases to refill the reserve when petroleum prices are low. The bill would put these options in the study, rather than itself canceling sales or requiring purchases.
(A) an analysis of opportunities to improve and modernize the physical infrastructure and operation of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to respond to petroleum product supply shocks, including by—
(iii) eliminating congressionally mandated sales of petroleum products from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve;
(vi) encouraging purchases of petroleum products to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve during periods of low petroleum prices;
The requested study would examine facilities able to withstand withdrawals as large and frequent as those required during the reserve’s last 10 years of use. It would also examine faster filling and greater ability to move petroleum through reserve pipelines in both directions.
(A) an analysis of opportunities to improve and modernize the physical infrastructure and operation of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to respond to petroleum product supply shocks, including by—
(iv) creating storage facilities sufficiently resilient to withstand drawdowns of petroleum products of the volume and frequency required over the last 10 years of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve’s use;
(vii) increasing— (I) the Strategic Petroleum Reserve’s rate of fill; and (II) the bidirectional flow capability of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve’s pipeline infrastructure;
The requested report would include recommendations for federal agencies and Congress. It would also evaluate the Life Extension II project, including work originally planned for that project that was not carried out.
(B) any recommendations for Federal agencies and Congress to improve and modernize the physical infrastructure and operation of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to respond to petroleum product supply shocks; and (C) an analysis and evaluation of the Life Extension II project, including work that was originally in-scope for the Life Extension II project but was subsequently not carried out;
Section 2 would use existing definitions from the Energy Policy and Conservation Act for “petroleum product,” “storage facility,” and “Strategic Petroleum Reserve.” The bill does not reproduce those definitions.
(1) Petroleum product The term petroleum product has the meaning given such term in section 3 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6202). (2) Storage facility The term storage facility has the meaning given such term in section 152 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6232). (3) Strategic Petroleum Reserve The term Strategic Petroleum Reserve has the meaning given such term in section 152 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6232).
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated September 11, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on September 3, 2026.
Source snapshot updated 2026-09-11T15:43:15Z. 2026-09-03: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. 2026-09-03: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2026-09-03. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; earmark disclosures and accompanying committee materials were not supplied.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow carve-out, special exemption, or preferential treatment was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 11, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI