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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, According to the United States Energy Information
3Administration, Illinois is a key transportation hub for crude
4oil and natural gas moving throughout North America, with more
5than a dozen interstate natural gas pipelines, 2 natural gas
6market centers, several petroleum and petroleum product
7pipelines, and an oil port; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Illinois ranks fifth in the United States with
9respect to population (12.8 million), GDP ($730 billion), and
10jobs related to exports (340,000); and
 
11    WHEREAS, Illinois' top exports, per the United States
12Department of Commerce, are petroleum products (#1) and crude
13oil (#5); in 2014, Illinois exported $1.1 billion in crude oil,
14a 425% increase from 2013; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Illinois has the most oil refineries in the
16Midwestern United States (4), with an aggregate crude oil
17processing capacity of approximately one million barrels per
18day; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Illinois is ranked fourth in oil refining capacity
20in the United States, as of January of 2014; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, In December of 2015, due to an unexpected increase
2in United States crude oil stockpiles combined with a decision
3from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to
4maintain high levels of production, oil prices fell to below
5$38 per barrel, a decline of more than $25 per barrel since
6December of 2014; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The United States is currently a party to 14 free
8trade agreements with 20 partner countries, which account for
9$37.4 billion of Illinois' exports in 2014; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Under current United States law, there is a vague
11ban on the export of United States crude stemming from the 1920
12Mineral Leasing Act, the 1975 Energy Policy Conservation Act,
13and the 1979 Export Administration Act; and
 
14    WHEREAS, There is currently an effort in the United States
15Congress to lift the export ban of United States crude oil; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Proponents of the ban assert that, among other
17things, such legislation is not needed at this time and
18Congress should instead, among other things, end the
19multi-billion dollar subsidies provided yearly to oil
20companies; opponents of the ban assert that, among other
21things, such legislation will, among other things, lower
22gasoline prices across the country, give the United States

 

 

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1greater foreign policy influence, and bolster United States
2trade competitiveness and market access; therefore, be it
 
3    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
4NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
5encourage a uniform, transparent, and modern process among the
6U.S. State Department, the United States Department of
7Commerce, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the
8United States Department of Energy for licensing the
9exportation of crude oil produced in the United States and the
10approval of cross-border pipelines; and be it further
 
11    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
12delivered to U.S. State Department, the United States
13Department of Commerce, the Federal Energy Regulatory
14Commission, the United States Department of Energy, the United
15States Congressional Budget Office, and the United States
16Government Accountability Office.