Luke Messer: “I want to thank my colleague and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton) for his leadership on this important bill, and I…”

“I want to thank my colleague and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton) for his leadership on this important bill, and I am hoping today to join the voice vote kumbaya, if possible. H.R. 702 is a commonsense legislation that repeals the outdated ban on crude oil exports. This ban was originally implemented when America was going through an energy crisis. I was very young then, but certainly remember the gas lines in the early 1970s. The truth is things are different today. America is one of the largest oil exporters, thanks to a boom in production all across our country. Gas prices are at historic lows, and refineries are near capacity. Yet, our laws do not reflect this new reality. Producers are still held captive to the domestic marketplace. It is long past time to modernize. This bill will pave the way for a new age of energy innovation in America. It will support and create thousands of U.S. jobs, good-paying jobs, and encourage the investment of millions of dollars into our economy. America now has opportunities that would have seemed unimaginable even a generation ago, potentially even a few years ago. We could now become a net exporter of energy. Think about that. And when we do, it will jump-start our economy, create thousands of good- paying jobs, and improve our national security and economic security as well. Now, Mr.…”