BRIAN NELSON, CNN ANCHOR: President Clinton today said that releasing about 5 percent of the nation's strategic oil reserve is meant to help consumers this winter. But to some critics, the surprise move just six weeks before the presidential election seems a bit too convenient. CNN White House correspondent John King has the story.</s>JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The president is defending his decision to tap the country's emergency oil reserves, and he's rebutting Republicans who say it's all about politics. Mr. Clinton says oil reserves are down nationwide by 20 percent, down 60 percent, he says, in New England as the winter approaches. Mr. Clinton told reporters today he believes tapping 30 million barrels from the strategic petroleum reserve will increase supplies and perhaps nudge down prices.</s>WILLIAM J. CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The overriding purpose for our action is to increase supply and help consumers make it through the cold winter. Families shouldn't have to drain their wallets to drive their cars or heat their homes.</s>KING: Republicans, including the GOP presidential nominee George W. Bush, say the president is trying to help his vice president score points with voters nervous about rising energy costs. But the president says he's simply trying to help American families get through the winter, and he says things wouldn't be so bad if the Republican Congress had acted on administration energy conservation proposals.</s>CLINTON: I proposed electricity restructuring legislations. and they abandoned it. And for every new dollar we have sought to invest in clean, efficient sources energy, they have provided a dime.</s>KING: The president also announced he's releasing $400 million from the government program designed to help low income Americans pay their home heating bills. And Mr. Clinton acknowledged there's no guarantee tapping the emergency reserves will indeed drive down prices. But he says it would have been wrong for the government not to try. John King, CNN, the White House.
Clinton Defends Decision to Tap Strategic Oil Reserves