For almost three months the U.S. has been able to legally export crude oil, but Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio is still campaigning on lifting the ban.
Rubio told supporters he would lift the ban as president at a private fundraiser in Texas Friday, and his campaign website has an entire page devoted to the need to lift the ban. “I would also allow American oil producers to be able to export,” Rubio said, when asked what he would do about poor oil prices as president. “Right now we’re not allowed to export.”
Congress lifted the ban in December as part of the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill it passed. “Oil companies rush to exploit end of U.S. crude export ban,” reported Reuters in the wake of the vote that ended a 40-year ban on crude oil exports.
A subsection of Rubio’s energy policy on his website echoes his remarks. “So how can we usher in a 21st Century energy agenda? We can start by eliminating government-imposed barriers to energy production and economic growth,” the page reads, which is titled: “It’s Time To Lift The Crude Oil Export Ban.”
Rubio missed the omnibus vote, opting to campaign for president instead. He later chalked up his absence to a vote against a bill full of “garbage.” “The outcome is already predetermined,” he told Greta Van Susteren on Fox News in December.
Rubio’s senate office and his campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
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