Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz dodged questions about oil exports during an energy committee hearing in the Senate Tuesday.
Moniz was testifying on the future of the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, but soon found himself being asked by Republican lawmakers if he, or the Obama administration, supported legislation lifting the ban on oil exports, which has become a priorty for the GOP.
Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., asked the secretary if the Obama administration opposes “all legislative efforts to repeal this crude oil ban?” Moniz deferred the question to the Commerce Department, saying export policy is under the jurisdiction of that agency and not the Department of Energy.
The House is expected to vote on a bill lifting the ban on crude oil exports Friday. The Senate is expected to follow suit sometime later in the year. The Republican majority supports lifting the restrictions on exports as a way to improve the economy and increase jobs, but Democrats are opposed to it, saying lifting the ban could raise gasoline prices and harm the economy. They also say the environment could be harmed by lifting the ban, since it could increase greenhouse gas emissions that many scientists say are causing the Earth’s temperature to rise.
Moniz, however, appeared to support the findings of the Energy Information Adminsitration, which found that lifitng the export restrictions would lower gasoline prices. He said the study shows that oil exports from lifting the ban would be very modest for at least a decade.
“It is also true that recent studies, including the last summary study of the [Energy Information Administration] on the congressionally requested studies on exports show that the impacts for the next 10 years or so are likely to be pretty modest, to put it mildly, in terms of exports,” Moniz continued.
The Congressional Budget Office found that lifting the ban would increase oil prices but would boost revenue for the Treasury from increased oil and natural gas leases.
The U.S. imports seven million barrels of crude oil a day, Moniz said, and “a much greater exporter now of oil products” such as gasoline and diesel.
