LISA !3*l'I I ':lIm EFLILI ALASKA AN: Ilznm .I. NC 3715 1-5-1 3:L-ELI-.3 fr-.-1 WASHINGTON. DC 20510-0203 .1. us an. rm. am I "Jr" KI I EH03 January 143 I Eiunra he President jg; Whit'? HD1133 en' "ms 1600 Avenue Washington, DC. 20500-0004 Dear Mr. President: Last week, I spoke at the Brookings Institution about the significant opportunity the United States now has to expand our energy trade. My remarks were based on a white paper that I concurrently released, entitled, Signal to the World: Renovating the Architecture of U.S. Energy Exports." Given your interest and authority on these issues, I am enclosing a copy of my speech and white paper along with this letter. I am hoping they will help spark a new and national conversation on U.S. energy trade regulations -- and lead to broader recognition of the need to modernize them in a measured yet urgent manner. Your leadership will be critical to our success in this endeavor. In particular, I would draw your attention to the status of our nation's hydrocarbon trade. While exports of our natural gas and petroleum products have grown, our work is far from finished, and our policies are, in some cases, far from adequate. Despite the obvious geopolitical, economic, and environmental benefits of building out our nation's liquefaction capacity as soon as possible, the Department of Energy continues to slow--walk its approval of export licenses to our allies. The Keystone XL pipeline, which the State Department estimated would support over 42,000 jobs, remains unapproved even after years of delay. I once again urge you to take immediate action on these infrastructure projects, which you have generally promised to champion. The necessity of lifting the prohibition on crude oil exports also presents us with a rare opportunity to work together in a bipartisan fashion to address this situation before it becomes a problem. Together, we can send a strong signal to the world that the United States is ready to lead on energy, the environment, and trade. Lifting the ban will help create jobs, boost the economy, and keep our production at record levels. While I believe you retain the executive authority necessary to lift the ban on crude oil exports, if you need legislative support from the Congress in order to do so, you will always have a willing partner from Alaska. I look forward to hearing back from you - and working with you to ensure that America leads the world in energy trade. Sincerely, Lisa Murkowski United States Senator HOME PAGE