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October 11, 2015

U.S. House Passes MSCI-Supported Bill To End Crude Export Ban

Despite the leadership skirmish among Republicans in the chamber, the U.S. House last week passed H.R. 702, a bill that would end the U.S. ban on crude oil exports. The legislation passed on a bipartisan 261 to 159 vote. (Click here to see how your member of Congress voted.) 

As a reminder, two weeks ago as part of the Energy Equipment and Infrastructure Alliance (EEIA), MSCI sent a letter to members of Congress urging them to support H.R. 702. (That letter can be found here.) 

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) issued a statement after the vote calling on the Senate to take quick action on legislation to overturn the ban. The Speaker said, “It’s time to lift the outdated ban on selling America-made oil oversees. Today’s vote shows there is bipartisan agreement that modernizing our energy policy in this way will increase workers’ incomes and benefit their families, create jobs, lower gas prices, and strengthen our economy. It would also boost America’s influence around the world and help our friends and allies. I hope President Obama and Senate Democrats will work with us and do the right thing for our country.” 

Studies show that giving American producers access to global crude oil customers would create as many as two million barrels per day of additional production and that production would create up to 400,000 new supply chain jobs by 2018, while putting downward pressure on gasoline prices and providing allies with a reliable alternative source of energy. 

As The Wall Street Journal noted, a bill to end the ban faces an “uncertain” future in the Senate while the White House has said that President Barack Obama would veto the measure if it passes both houses of Congress. (The White House argued ending the ban was “not needed at this time.” Readers can access the White House’s full veto message here.) Meanwhile, major newspapers in the United States have come out in support of ending the ban. As the U.S. Chamber of Commerce noted, those outlets include USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post

Despite the White House’s opposition, MSCI urges its members to turn their attention to the upper chamber of Congress and call their senators to ask that they vote to end the ban. The EEIA has a state-by-state breakdown of the jobs that would be created in each state by ending the ban. This information is critical to relay to your senators. Please call them today! 

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