The House Agriculture Committee on Wednesday held a hearing to examine what House Agriculture Committee Chairman Michael Conaway, R-Texas, called the “positive impacts” of lifting the U.S. ban on oil exports.

“The majority of oil development takes place in rural areas like Texas’ 11th Congressional District, and when development slows or prices swing wildly, the health of those rural communities suffers,” Conaway said in an opening statement before listening to an industry panel.

“Allowing a 40-year old law to dictate our nation’s energy policy is simply not in the best interest of the American people,” Conway said. “According to studies, if we were to lift the ban today, we would see close to a million new jobs nationwide in just a few years. Lifting the oil export ban will grow our economy, it will also improve our geopolitical position and it will lower gas prices.”

Witness testimony

• David J. Porter, chairman, Texas Railroad Commission, Austin, Texas
• Harold Hamm, founder, chairman and chief executive officer, Continental Energy, Oklahoma City, Okla.
• Terrence A. Duffy, executive chairman and president, CME Group, Chicago
• Kari Bjerke Cutting, vice president, North Dakota Petroleum Council, Bismarck, N.D.
• Jamie Webster, senior director, IHS, Washington
• Frank Rusco, director for natural resources and environment, Government Accountability Office