Congressional moves to repeal a crude oil exports ban are irrelevant because those decisions rest with the Commerce Department, the White House said. The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved a measure to lift a ban on U.S. crude oil exports. The ban was enacted in the 1970s after Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries briefly stopped exporting oil to the United States because of Washington’s support for Israel. Rep. Joe Barton , R-Texas, who introduced the bill, said the U.S. oil boom needs to benefit overseas allies as much as it has the domestic economy. “The ban on exporting crude oil imposes an estimated $200 billion – $600 billion cost to the U.S. economy, discourages crude oil production, […]