Bush asked to explain why he won't release heatoil

Fri Oct 14, 2005 01:26 PM ET

By Tom Doggett

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic Rep. Edward Markey of Massachusetts asked the Bush administration on Friday to explain why it will not tap the government's emergency heating oil stockpile, even though federal law allowed it do so this week after heating fuel prices reached high levels.

For the first time ever, the U.S. Northeast experienced sustained high heating oil costs long enough to hit the price trigger that gives President George W. Bush the option to release supplies from the 2-million-barrel heating oil reserve. The White House declined to use the reserve for the moment.