U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today released the following statement in response to the Statement of Administration Policy on H.R. 702 issued yesterday by the White House.

“It is unfortunate that the White House fails to understand the national security and geopolitical benefits of lifting the ban on oil exports. Ask Poland, which is 96 percent reliant on Russia for its oil, or Japan, which must continue to rely on Iran, if U.S. oil ‘is not needed at this time.’ The veto threat reveals a fundamental misalignment within the administration. These policy contradictions merit further attention. Regardless of what the president’s advisers may tell him, congressional legislation has become necessary: even though he has the authority to act, he has not – even though the time is right, the need is clear, and the global dividends promise to be significant.”

In July, the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, chaired by Murkowski, reported favorably her bipartisan bill, the Offshore Production and Energizing National Security Act (S. 2011). If enacted, the bill would fully repeal the outdated restrictions on exporting American oil, while preserving the emergency authorities of the president to act during emergencies.