Low oil prices prompt Texas congressmen to request exports

Recently falling oil prices have some Texas lawmakers calling for a lift of the nation’s longstanding ban on crude oil exports.

With the price per barrel dropping to around $50 from around $100 in mid-2014, oil industry executives are cutting jobs and looking to sell assets.

Last week, an Arlington, Texas, representative filed a bill that would lift the ban that’s been in place since the 1970s oil crisis. The bill includes four Republican co-sponsors from the Lone Star State.

Supporters of the current export policy argue that repealing the ban could raise the price of gasoline, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Read more from the Dallas Morning News.