Recently, there has been some talk on Capitol Hill about lifting the national embargo on the export of American-produced oil. Congress should know that this is not a strategy that would help protect consumers and would only enhance the profits of oil companies that have already made a combined profit of $1 trillion in the past decade. The ban is just as important now as it was when it was created.
Like it or not, American families rely heavily on gasoline, whether they own cars or use transit, and it’s a big part of their budget. Allowing exports of American-produced crude would force us to import more from overseas with prices set mainly by OPEC-led countries that are frequently subject to conflict and disruption. This would mean higher gas prices for Illinois families and less left over from their paycheck. Research from the “Alaska exception” in 1996 shows that gas prices in the western U.S. rose between 7 to 12 cents per gallon while these exports were happening.
While some proponents of lifting the ban have said that the energy landscape is completely different from when the embargo began in 1975, it is important to note that the U.S. imported the same proportion of oil in 2013 as it did in 1975. With new and improved harvesting methods and cleaner technologies, there is no excuse for us to go back to a disproportionate dependence on foreign oil. Lifting the embargo is a bad idea for Illinois consumers and a bad idea for our national energy strategy.
—Joshua Collins, Legislative Director, Citizen Action/Illinois, Chicago
