In The News
DALLAS NEWS: Rep. Barton gets boost from House leadership on lifting crude oil export ban
Washington,
May 1, 2015
Tags:
Trade
Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington, announced today that he had a “yellow light” from Republican leadership to push his effort to lift the 40-year-old ban on crude oil exports. Barton said his bill has “an excellent chance to get…passed through the House sometime this year,” though Republican leadership hasn’t committed to a “green light” — giving the measure a floor vote. To get one, Barton and Rep. Henry Cuellar of Laredo, the bill’s Democratic co-sponsor, must conduct an outreach campaign with their House colleagues. “A lot of the members, they’re not opposed to it, they simply don’t know anything about it,” Barton said. “We need to do a better outreach program to educate the members.” Cuellar said he signed on to the bill because the ban no longer “makes sense” given advances in technology that have accelerated domestic oil production. Lifting the ban would be a jobs creator for the energy industry and beyond, according to Cuellar. “It’s not only the oil and gas industry, it’s all those secondary jobs — it’s those restaurant owners, the small business owners, the workers that depend on the jobs dealing with the oil and gas industry. That’s very important,” Cuellar said. Barton’s announcement was bolstered by the attendance of House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., who supports lifting the ban. Scalise called the export ban “a relic of the 1970s whose time has come to pass.” The effort has also gained steam in the Senate. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, will offer an amendment that would lift the export ban to legislation on reviewing the Iran nuclear deal. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, has filed a similar bill. Both he and Barton testified earlier this month before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade in support of their bills. Barton has filed legislation to lift the ban before, but his current effort has received the more support than ever. He’s collected 20 co-sponsors for the bill, including nine Texans. “This is a strategic weapon. We should use it. I can’t think of a better symbol of America going overseas than a barrel of oil,” Barton said.
|