OPINION:
Fresh polling data shows that more than half of all Americans disapprove of President Obama’s handling of the economy and foreign affairs.
That’s not surprising. Under his watch, the economy has failed to grow more than 2.4 percent in a year. His foreign policy strategy has fueled the growth of ISIS. This is a significant difference from the transformational administration of Ronald Reagan, which enabled annual growth of up to 7.26 percent while simultaneously defeating America’s adversary, the Soviet Union, without firing a shot.
Mr. Obama now has a golden opportunity to help reverse these trends: Congress is set to present him with a bill that would lift the blockade on U.S. oil exports. He should sign it.
The ban dates back to 1973, when Barack Obama was just 12 years old. Members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries put an embargo on oil, which sent global oil prices through the roof. Further government meddling made it difficult for American drivers to find enough fuel to drive their cars, and the national economy contracted.
In a panic, Congress passed a law banning the export of U.S. crude oil. Lawmakers wanted to bulk up domestic reserves and make the country less vulnerable to Middle East supply manipulation.
Today, the energy landscape looks radically different. The United States produces an estimated 9.4 million barrels of oil per day, almost triple the amount in the mid-70s.
There’s a lot to be gained by selling that oil on the world market. Lifting the export ban should be an easy decision for a president like Mr. Obama who has been correctly touting the benefits of American exports.
For starters, the economic returns would be massive. While no one policy is a magic bullet, within a few years of increased crude production America have nearly 1 million new jobs.
Exports would also drive more domestic production. Almost immediately, local industry would ramp up daily production by 665,000 barrels. That rise would put downward pressure on prices at the pump. Gasoline prices could fall by as much as 13 cents-a-gallon, saving average American drivers hundreds of dollars a year.
But most important is that allowing oil exports would also provide substantial national security advantages. Our allies could use American supplies to wean themselves off imports from dangerous regimes in the Middle East and Russia. No less than Leon Panetta, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency under the Obama administration, has said that rescinding the ban would help resolve major global conflicts. Given these huge payoffs, it’s no wonder that six in 10 Americans support lifting the ban.
And yet, Mr. Obama has actually threatened to veto legislation recently introduced in Congress that would allow the United States to export its oil freely as it does other products. He’s become enthralled to a radical environmentalist fringe that opposes any policy changes that might boost the American oil and gas industry. America even has methods to export arms to foreign countries — but not our oil?
That’s a dangerous mistake. This myopic devotion to a radical fringe is costing the country billions of dollars in economic growth and hundreds of thousands of new jobs. It’s time for the president to correct his position and lift the antiquated ban on oil exports.
• Michael James Barton is the energy adviser at ARTIS Research. He previously served as the deputy director of Middle East policy at the Pentagon.
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