Washington, D.C. –Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., promised to make sure impacts on American employers, consumers and families are at the forefront of any discussion about exporting crude oil, in a hearing today.

“Simply charging forward and hoping for the best is not the way you get the best policy decisions. The responsibility of our committee is to make sure consumers will not get hammered by the cost of gas going up because of some theory that everything is just going to turn out hunky dory in the end,” Wyden said.

The United States has restricted exports of crude oil since the Arab oil embargo of 1973.

Wyden, a supporter of expanded international trade, and chairman of the Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, said he has not taken a position on whether the United States should expand exports of crude oil. However, he highlighted the need to address unanswered questions about how the prices of gasoline, heating oil and other crucial products would be affected by allowing unlimited crude exports.

“American families and American businesses deserve to know what exports would mean for their specific needs when they fill up at the pump, or get their delivery of heating oil,” Wyden said.

An archived video the hearing is available at the committee website.