Adaptation to Changing Crude Oil Markets

Floor Speech

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Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman. I am normally on the opposite side of the gentleman on the congressional baseball team and normally with Congressman Doyle. So I hope we can win this one against Congressman Mike Doyle. So I thank the gentleman for the opportunity.

Two or three points I would like to make, Mr. Chairman.

One, in Ohio, lifting this ban means 16,000 jobs in Ohio, almost $3 billion in investment. Our friends, the operating engineers and the laborers who are going to do that work, are supportive of this bill.

I know we have some issues with the refineries, and I think we need to continue to work on that and see if we can fix that issue.

We have a number of studies that say the savings to the American consumer will be anywhere from 2 cents a gallon all the way up to 12 cents a gallon. Colombia University, Brookings, Aspen, Resources for the Future, all are saying this is going to reduce the cost of gas, which is a direct benefit for our consumers and our constituents who need it as we see this huge economic squeeze for the middle class.

Lastly, I have been sitting on the Defense Appropriations Committee now for a number of years, and this issue here can directly benefit our ability to deal with what is happening in the Middle East.

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Mr. RYAN of Ohio. I yield back. No. I am just kidding.

I also would also like to say, sitting on the Defense Appropriations Committee, we sit in these classified briefings and we see what is happening with Russia, we see what Putin is doing, we see what is happening in the Middle East, the Ukraine.

We need to export this oil. We need to export our natural gas. We need to have a bigger footprint in the world so that we can make sure that our allies have access to consistent energy flows coming here from the United States and creating jobs here in the United States.

Michele Flournoy, CEO and Founder of the Center for New American Security, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy under President Obama says:

By lifting the ban on U.S. exports of crude oil, U.S. policymakers have an extraordinary opportunity to enhance not only our economic vitality, but also our national security.

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