House passes symbolic gesture for oil exports

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- A U.S. House leader said a bill passed in favor of oil exports rejects a global landscape favoring North America, but support wasn't enough to override a veto.

By a vote of 249-174, the House of Representatives passed the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act, which, among other things, would reverse the moratorium placed on domestic crude oil exports in the 1970s.

Thanks in part to the shale oil boom, U.S. aggregate production is rivaling top producer Saudi Arabia. Supporters of the measure argued U.S. energy policy needs to reflect that momentum.

"America is now the world's top oil and natural gas producer, and updating our policies for a new era is critical to harnessing the jobs and economic potential unleashed by America's energy renaissance," Louis Finkel, the American Petroleum Institute's vice president for government affairs, said in a statement.

For U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., the bill says "yes to energy and yes to jobs" and puts the mindset of scarcity triggered by the 1970s oil embargo from the Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in the rear-view mirror.

The bill was largely a symbolic gesture as it passed well short of the 290 votes needed to overcome the veto the White House has threatened for similar legislation. A measure meant to defund Planned Parenthood and erase the Affordable Care Act, referred to commonly as ObamaCare, suffered a similar fate in the Senate.

Jay Hauck, executive director for the so-called CRUDE Coalition, which includes refiners opposed to lifting the ban, said support for pro-export legislation was waning with each successive attempt.

"The vote does nothing to alter the prospects for this politically risky crude export legislation, with the White House still firmly opposed to the measure," he said in an emailed statement.