On the recordOctober 9, 2015
I come to the floor today to express my support of H.R. 702, much-needed legislation which will lift the arbitrary ban on the export of one of our country's most abundant natural resources: crude oil. The current ban on exports is a relic of a different time before we as a nation knew just how much crude oil we have stored in the earth across this country. We are entirely too dependent on foreign oil sources, particularly from countries who have no regard for the American economy. Today is different. In fact, from the period between 2000 and 2013, U.S. production of crude oil increased by nearly fourteenfold, from 250,000 barrels per day to 3.5 million. With this large amount of excess capacity, we can sell our oil to the global markets, which will bring U.S. crude prices in line with global prices, and global prices will go down because of the increased supply. No less than 68 percent of consumers' cost of gasoline--and 57 percent for diesel fuel--come from the price of the source: crude oil. Numerous studies have shown that the increased global supply will lead to lower prices at the pump. Not only will consumers have more money to spend on school supplies, food, clothing, and other household staples, but the prices of these goods will go down because the cost to transport them from manufacturer to store will decrease. Possibly, more importantly, we have to consider the security implications of allowing the export of crude.…
