The Hill: Senate panel votes to lift oil export ban

By Timothy Cama, Jul. 30, 2015, The Hill

The Senate took a major step toward ending the 40-year-old ban on exporting crude oil Thursday when a committee voted to lift the prohibition.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted 12-10 along party lines to approve a bill sponsored by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), the panel’s chairwoman, to lift the ban, while opening more areas to offshore drilling and giving nearby states a share of the royalties.

“It’s the result of collaborative efforts by members of this committee to boost offshore development, allow revenue sharing for coastal producing states and lift the outdated ban on crude exports,” Murkowski said before the vote on the bill.

“It’s three efforts that I believe will improve our energy and our national security,” she added, referring to separate offshore drilling bills for the southern Atlantic coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico coast and the waters around Alaska, sponsored by Murkowski and other senators.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) sponsored the Gulf bill and supported the entire package.

“Obviously, we as a nation would do better if we had greater access to energy development to strengthen our energy independence,” he said.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) also supported the measure.

More: www.thehill.com

Fox News: As US energy output surges, Republicans lead effort to lift decades-old oil export ban

By Joseph Weber, Jul. 18, 2015, Fox News

Congressional Republicans are leading a bipartisan effort to lift a decades-old ban on oil exports, arguing the recent surge in domestic-energy production and other factors have pushed the embargo past its prime.

To be sure, the United States has recently emerged as the world’s largest energy producer -- largely the result of the relatively new method of extracting natural gas and hard-to-get oil known as “fracking.”

Supporters of the plan, including many in the oil and gas industry, essentially argue that lifting the ban would help the U.S. economy. They say it is now slowing future energy production and exploration and that U.S. companies could profit from getting an abundance of domestic energy products on world markets.

“I’m optimistic about our efforts,” North Dakota GOP Rep. Kevin Cramer told FoxNews.com on Wednesday. “We have bipartisan support and a broad understanding of the issue among members.”

More: www.foxnews.com