12.17.15

Hoeven: Time to Lift Crude Oil Export Ban

Senator Worked to Include Provision in Year-End Funding Bill, Continues Building Support for Passage

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven continues working to build support for legislation lifting the ban on crude oil exports. The senator spoke on the Senate floor and called for Congress to pass legislation repealing the decades-long ban on U.S. crude oil exports.

“I rise today to make the case for lifting the 40-year-old ban on exporting crude oil based on its merits. It will benefit not only my home state of North Dakota, but our nation and our allies in a host of different ways,” said Hoeven. “We worked hard to include legislation repealing the ban in the year-end legislation Congress now has under consideration. Importantly, this is must-pass legislation, meaning that it will be very hard for the president to veto the bill lifting the oil export ban.

“The reasons for lifting the oil export ban are very powerful. Doing so would encourage more domestic production. It would increase the global supply of crude oil, reducing the cost at the pump for our consumers, particularly over the long term. It will help grow our economy and create good-paying jobs for our citizens. The last reason is vitally important as well, and that is making our nation more secure. We can build national security through energy security and help keep our people safer.”

Hoeven has repeatedly called for repealing the ban and worked persistently to get it included in year-end legislation. The senator, who serves on the Energy Committee, is a cosponsor of bipartisan legislation lifting the ban that passed the committee this summer.

Hoeven said lifting the ban is supported by studies at the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the non-partisan Brookings Institute and the Harvard Business School. According to a study by IHS, a global provider of data and analysis, lifting the ban will attract an estimated $750 billion in new investments and create nearly 400,000 additional jobs in the U.S. between 2016 and 2030.

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