The U.S. Congress has passed a $1.1 trillion spending bill, legislation that includes repeal of the nearly 40-year-old ban on crude oil exports.
The Senate passed the bill 65-33 on Friday, while the House voted 316-113. President Barack Obama signed the bill into law the same day.
The bill also includes extensions of environmental tax credits, including for solar and wind power, a necessary concession on behalf of Repulicans to make repeal of the export ban palatable for Democrats and the White House.
Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., urged her fellow Democrats to support the bill on Thursday evening even as she expessed her displeasure at repeal of the of the ban.
"Republicans’ desperate thirst for lifting the oil export ban empowered Democrats to win significant concessions throughout the Omnibus, including ridding the bill of scores of deeply destructive poison pill riders," Pelosi wrote in a letter to Democrats.
Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan praised the repeal in his statement on the spending bill, referring to it as a "big win for the American people."
Oil interests cheered the news on Friday.
“Today, the American people can cheer the House and now the Senate for putting the nation’s energy needs ahead of politics,” said American Petroleum President and CEO Jack Gerard in a prepared statement. “This is a historic moment in our energy renaissance. Lifting this ban will help put downward pressure on gas prices, create jobs, grow our economy and lower our trade deficit. We now urge the president to follow Congress' lead and sign this legislation into law."
