House OKs lifting 40-year-old US ban on oil exports

October 12, 2015

The Washington Post

WASHINGTON — Defying a White House veto threat, the Republican-controlled House on Friday approved a bill to lift a 40-year-old U.S. ban on crude oil exports. Supporters argued that an ongoing boom in oil and gas drilling has made the 1970s-era restrictions obsolete.

The bill was approved, 261-159, with 26 Democrats joining Republicans in backing the measure that now heads to the Senate, where prospects are uncertain.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said lifting the export ban would lower prices at the pump, create jobs and boost the economy.

“In my view, America’s energy boom has the potential to reset the economic foundation of our economy and improve our standing around the world,” Boehner said.

Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said times have changed and that U.S. policy should embrace a new reality of energy abundance.

“While the (Obama) administration claims to support an all-of-the-above energy policy, their actions don’t match the rhetoric,” Upton said.

Lifting the export ban also would strengthen national security and weaken economic and political rivals such as Russia, Iran and Venezuela, supporters said. The measure includes a Republican-sponsored amendment blocking crude exports to Iran.

Read entire article on The Washington Post.

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