Perino: Dems wasting time on energy bill

WASHINGTON, July 24 (UPI) -- The White House Thursday ridiculed efforts by Democrats to free up the U.S. strategic oil reserve, calling it a waste of time.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told the daily media briefing the administration is drafting a position statement on the overall issue of energy sufficiency.

Perino said the strategic oil reserve was set up to deal with emergencies and tapping into it now "doesn't seem like the best idea." Instead, she again urged Congress to adopt legislation that would open the way for further offshore drilling and tapping into the oil reserves in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

"The Outer Continental Shelf … has 18 billion barrels of oil; up in ANWR, 10.4 billion barrels and oil shale, 800 billion barrels. Compare that to 700 million barrels in the SPR (strategic petroleum reserve) and, I think, you can see why the math doesn't add up," Perino said.