As oil prices hit another new record Tuesday, both the House and Senate sent a message to the White House, saying through their votes that it's time to stop adding oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve is the largest stockpile of government-owned emergency crude oil in the world. Established in the aftermath of the 1973-74 oil embargo, the SPR provides the President with a powerful response option should a disruption in commercial oil supplies threaten the U.S. economy. As of May 7, the SPR inventory was 702 million barrels, the highest level ever held. The reserve has a capacity of 727 million barrels.

Numerous groups have called for the government to stop putting oil into the reserve and even start drawing oil out in an attempt to bring crude prices back down. However, the Bush administration is opposed to the idea, saying there is no evidence that suspending shipments will affect the price of oil or gasoline in a meaningful way. Instead, the White House wants to increase the reserve, kept in four underground storage sites in Texas and Louisiana, against the possibility of any major supply disruptions.

Concerns that Iran may consider cutting crude oil production helped drive oil future up as high as a record $126.98 a barrel in midday trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday before falling to settle at $125.80.

Tuesday, the Senate overwhelmingly bucked the Bush administration by voting to stop adding oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve until crude oil prices fall to below $75 a barrel from their current $120-plus highs. The House followed suit hours later, voting 385-25 to hald the deliveries.

However, the votes are largely symbolic because the measures differ (the Senate version was attached to a flood insurance reform bill) and would need to be reconciled before final congressional approval.

American Trucking Associations officials Monday joined Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) at a press conference in Washington, D.C., to discuss their proposal to suspend filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. "The trucking industry cannot stop buying fuel, but the government can," said ATA Senior Vice President Tim Lynch. "While we know that the SPR does not contain enough oil to dramatically alter the supply of crude oil in the marketplace, we believe that a suspension of purchases could send a strong message to help restore rational behavior to the petroleum markets."