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Pearce Votes For Spending Plan, Which Includes Lifting The Oil Export Ban

Rep. Steve Pearce (R) New Mexico

 Commentary: U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce issued this statement following his vote for passage of an omnibus spending bill to fund the federal government through Fiscal Year 2016. (H.R. 2029). 

“Voting to end the ban on crude oil exports today is a major victory for New Mexico, and its economy,” stated Pearce. “Just the possibility of lifting the ban has narrowed the gap between the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Europe’s Brent oil prices – benefiting New Mexico and American producers. Opening new markets for US oil will boost production in New Mexico and throughout the West. The benefit will not only be seen in the oil counties, but rather statewide, as oil and gas revenues contribute roughly 40 percent of New Mexico’s state budget. From schools to roads to hospitals, the state will truly benefit from the increased oil and gas production associated with exportation. Giving our producers a fair chance to compete globally will create jobs and help create a healthy economy. This provision, however, was not the only focus of today’s larger bill.”

“The main focus of today’s vote was to fund the government for the remainder of the fiscal year. This legislation provides our military, their families and veterans nationwide with the services, support and training they deserve. For our military, we increase funding to ensure our troops have the training they need to face emerging threats, while also providing the resources to maintain our equipment and bases. The bill includes strong funding for our national security labs, which will allow DOE to continue to create and modernize our nuclear deterrent. WIPP is fully funded -- making certain the site outside of Carlsbad can both reopen as quickly as safely as possible, and once open, resume operations to dispose of nuclear waste from Los Alamos and around the nation.

“To offset the state’s enormous amount of federal lands, this legislation fully funds payment in lieu of taxes (PILT), a program that compensates states and local communities for lost tax revenue due to federal lands. And, to assist our ranching community, the bill once and for all ends the harmful country of origin labelling (COOL) that threatened the way our state has ranched for centuries.

“Despite the many benefits of this legislation, it does include provisions that are bad for the West and not beneficial to the New Mexican or American economy. As would be expected with a bill of this size, compromise had to be found. While one overarching bill to fund the government is not the process in which Congress should operate, and I look forward to working with the Speaker to return the funding process to regular order, I had only two choices today – vote yes or no. Lifting the ban on crude oil exports, fully funding WIPP, providing our military and their families with the care and assistance they deserve, and protecting our ranchers is too important to vote against. It was not an easy vote, but I believe it was the right one for New Mexico and for the economy.”