House Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., on Thursday called on President Joe Biden to limit crude oil exports in response to high gasoline prices.
In a letter to Biden, Pallone said the administration should, in whole or in part, restore a ban on the export of crude oil that was in place until 2015. When the ban was lifted, a move Pallone opposed at the time, Congress preserved the president’s ability to impose restrictions on exports for one year in response to certain economic or national security emergencies.
“I believe that our current circumstances meet the requirements of the law with respect to reimposing export restrictions on U.S. crude oil,” Pallone said. “Stopping crude oil exports would increase the domestic supply of oil available to U.S. refiners and would consequently help reduce prices at the pump here at home.”
