Lifting Ban on Crude Oil Exports Could Cause American Job Losses

US House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said that the crude oil export ban, proposed in the spending bill before Congress, could lead to unemployment in the US.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Democrats in the US House of Representatives are concerned that lifting the crude oil export ban, proposed in the spending bill before Congress, could take American jobs with it, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said during a news conference on Wednesday.

"There are concerns that we have about jobs, about jobs that will leave the country because of lifting the ban on crude oil, but that the remedy for refineries is not adequate and we are looking… for one manifestation of job loss there," Pelosi stated.

Earlier in the week, the US House of Representatives introduced new tax and spending legislation that will fund the government through the year of 2016. The bill includes measures to lift the decades-long crude oil exports ban.

The Obama administration has continuously threatened to veto the legislation. It has warned a repeal of the crude oil exports ban would contradict US policy that seeks to reduce fossil fuel consumption.

Earlier on Wednesday, US media reported that Congress is expected to vote on the omnibus spending bill on Friday.