WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Akaka said today that releasing 70 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve would help lower oil and gas prices.

Akaka, D-Hawai'i, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said that despite the strides Hawai'i is making on renewable energy, the state still depends heavily on imported oil.

"Releasing 10 percent of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve would lower oil and gas prices in the short term while we continue toward our goal to supply 70 percent of our (state's) energy through clean and renewable resources by 2030," Akaka said.

Akaka joined Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois and 34 other senators — 32 Democrats and two independents — in writing President Bush on Thursday asking him to release the oil, about a three-day supply. The reserve contains about 700 million barrels of oil.

"Virtually no other action you could take would have as positive or as immediate an impact at the pump — lowering fuel prices for American consumers and businesses," the letter said.

The senators said Bush's announcement that he would release 30 million barrels of oil from the reserve after Hurricane Katrina caused oil prices to drop 5.2 percent the next day and 9.5 percent within two weeks.

"A similar announcement… in 1991 led oil prices to decline within a day of the announcement, even though the actual release of oil did not occur for two weeks," the letter said.