Political Quotes

“I really thank Chairman Emeritus Barton for doing a really significant, good job on getting this bill bipartisan support and working so hard over the last 18 months or so, and both in the last Congress and this Congress, to get this bill ready for the floor today. Mr. Chairman, much has changed since the ban on crude oil was put in place in 1975. At that time, Congress and President Ford were responding to the Arab oil embargo crisis in an effort to protect this country from the unwanted impacts of the unstable global crude oil market. But we got good news today. Times have changed, and one of the biggest threats to the American energy boom today is not an international actor but, rather, our own ban on oil exports. Lifting the crude oil export ban is a win for our economy, yes, it is. Study after study has shown that lifting the ban would actually lower prices at the pump, create thousands of jobs, generate hundreds of millions of dollars in economic benefits, and strengthen our geopolitical influence across the globe. It will actually also reduce the deficit by more than $1 billion with additional oil royalties. These are real benefits that will be felt not only in southwest Michigan, my district, but across the country; yet, somehow, this administration does not support this thoughtful solution. Let's look at the benefits.…”