President Joe Biden will veto the Republican congressmen's Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) bill if it passes Congress, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said, Reuters reports.

In a letter last week, Granholm warned Republicans that limiting the Democratic president's authority to use the nation's oil reserves would undermine national security, cause crude oil shortages and raise gasoline prices.

"He will not allow the American people to suffer because of the backwards agenda that House Republicans are advancing," Granholm said.

The bill, dubbed HR21, would prohibit the Energy Secretary from using SPR without developing a plan to increase oil and gas leasing on federal lands unless the exemption is due to a major oil supply emergency.

The House, which Republicans control by a slim margin, is expected to vote on the bill as early as this week. The bill will face an uphill battle in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

Republican lawmakers are concerned that last year's releases from the SPR have impaired the ability to store, transport and transfer oil to the SPR.

Biden repeatedly used the SPR last year in response to skyrocketing oil prices due to the war in Ukraine, as well as increased travel as the COVID-19 pandemic waned.

Biden announced last March a record 180 million barrels of oil in six months, bringing the reserve level to its lowest since late 1983.

The Energy Department this month rejected the first batch of applications from oil companies to replenish crude oil reserves in the SPR.

Despite the rejection, Granholm said she is confident that the United States can replenish the SPR and save taxpayers money by buying oil at a lower price.