Lifting the ban would also create American jobs, and like the LNG Permitting Certainty and Transparency Act, it would strengthen America's geopolitical hand globally.

legislation like the LNG Permitting Certainty and Transparency Act that passed the House back in January which helps America harness our natural energy abundance by requiring DOE by law to act on pending LNG export applications in a timely…

We have lost 20,000 jobs and yet we have it underneath our feet, and we can't get it because we don't have a place to take it to.

I have been in Congress 21 years, and I have heard colleagues on both sides of the aisle constantly talk about the goal of making our country energy independent.

I believe the current crude oil exports restrictions are also standing in the way of real economic and geopolitical benefits.

Why wouldn't we be talking about taking this excess light sweet crude and tooling up our refinery capacity to keep it here in the United States?

There is no urgency to do this.

We shouldn't embrace short-term gains without understanding the long-term costs of our decisions because we can't afford to get it wrong.

Shouldn't we consider a fee on exports to ensure all Americans benefit from the exploitation and exporting of the natural resources?

I believe that we need to answer a host of complicated questions before considering a wholesale dismantling of our Nation's ability to restrict oil exports as proposed in H.R. 702.

This bill is good policy for both economic and strategic reasons.