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NEW YORK, Dec 9 (Reuters) – A bipartisan group of eight members of Congress, including six from Texas, warned U.S. President Joe Biden in a letter on Thursday not to halt U.S. oil exports to try to lower gasoline prices for American motorists.
The group said it was concerned that the White House was considering reinstating a ban on U.S. oil exports. They said a crude export ban would not help lower gasoline costs as the White House hopes, but instead likely raise prices further by restricting global oil supply and discouraging domestic production, according to the letter seen by Reuters.
The Biden administration has been grappling with rising energy costs, including retail gasoline prices, which at one point in November were 60% higher than a year earlier. Prices have retreated since then, and are down 10% since Nov. 1.
Also last month, the White House said it would release 50 million barrels of oil from its strategic reserves to lower energy prices, and has been pressing the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to supply more oil to the world.
The letter, signed by U.S. House of Representative members from Texas, Georgia and West Virginia, said the administration should resolve higher prices by removing policy barriers that inhibit U.S. production.
The White House was not immediately available for comment.
The administration has previously said it would consider other tools to manage higher energy prices, including a potential export ban.
The national price of gasoline is currently around $3.34 per gallon, up from $2.16 per gallon a year ago, according to data from the American Automobile Association. Prices peaked in early November at $3.42, according to AAA data.
Congress voted in 2015 to repeal a 40-year ban on exporting U.S. crude oil. Since that year, crude exports have skyrocketed nearly 600% to 3.2 million barrels per day in 2020, according to the most recent annual data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Biden has authority under the legislation to declare an emergency and limit or stop oil exports for up to a year.
The letter on Thursday follows another letter sent by Democratic House members last month, which urged Biden to reinstate – at least temporarily – the export ban.
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