In a letter to Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, EEIA was joined by twenty-four other supply chain trade organizations in urging representatives to vote in favor of H.R. 702, a bill lifting the ban on U.S. crude oil exports.
In urging support for lifting the ban, the trade organizations, including two major labor unions, noted that energys American jobs and growth bonanza is at grave risk today. In the past year hundreds of thousands of supply chain workers have lost their jobs, in communities largely outside of oil producing areas. This is in large part because export markets are closed to U.S. producers. Enabling free trade in U.S. crude oil will turn this situation around, putting these skilled Americans back to work.
The House is expected to vote on the bill late in the week of October 5. One hundred thirty-seven members from both sides of the aisle have co-sponsored the bill, introduced earlier this year by Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX).
Lifting the export ban has been one of EEIAs highest legislative priorities. Studies show that giving American producers access to global crude oil customers would stimulate as much as 2 million barrels per day of additional production, which 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.
