Dear john,
Today, I met with oil and gas industry officials to discuss how we can work together to create jobs and lower prices for South Texans. We also discussed how positive the outcomes have been with the 2015 lifting of the ban on crude oil exports.
A new study from ICF looks at the 2015 bipartisan law, which I sponsored, that lifted the ban on exporting crude oil. This allowed our South Texas oil companies to export their product, increasing jobs and prosperity in our region.
In the 1980s, my brother, Carlos, toiled in the oil fields like thousands of other families, making a good living and putting food on the table. More than 40,000 oil and gas workers reside in Texas-28, and I've been working hard to continue supporting the industry.
My work to lift the ban on U.S. crude oil exports has:
- Lowered consumer costs on oil and natural gas by $92 billion
- Increased U.S. GDP by $161 billion
- Improved the U.S. trade balance by $178 billion
- Increased U.S. employment by an average of 48,000 jobs
- Increased U.S. production by 1.8 billion barrels
I've been fighting to lower prices for South Texas families in Congress. We have more work to do, but seeing lower gas prices in Laredo (at $2.89 per gallon) makes me confident we are heading in the right direction.
Thank you for allowing me to be your Congressman serving South Texas.
