I saw a troubling report on the news this week. Any loss of jobs in Arkansas is always displeasing, but it is especially frustrating when you realize we can take actions to promote jobs and careers. Hundreds of Arkansans in the oil and gas industry are out of jobs because we have outdated regulations limiting the industry's ability to keep growing and investing to offset recent price declines.

Hopefully that will change soon, as I am a cosponsor on a bill, H.R. 702, to adapt to changing crude oil market conditions. This legislation would remove the forty-year ban on crude oil exports and open up new doors around the world for the sale of American crude oil.

Put in place in the aftermath of the Arab Oil Embargo, this ban doesn't reflect America's growing leadership as an energy producer. Along with recent congressional actions to promote greater use and exports of natural gas, this legislation will promote economic and national security.

H.R. 702 isn't the only recent push from Congress to help our economy by bringing more jobs to the state. The bipartisan trade promotion authority (TPA) bill also is crucial for continued economic growth in Arkansas and throughout the country.

Currently, 38 million jobs in America are tied to trade, and I am hopeful we can increase that number in the coming years. But in order to accomplish this, we must design and implement deals that cut foreign tariffs and eliminate barriers to greater U.S. exports of goods and services.

Since 1974, TPA has been the long-term remedy to this problem. TPA ensures we secure the most effective trade agreements, increases congressional oversight, and subjects presidential administrations – both current and future – to strict accountability to Congress and the American people.

It is good policy, and it is the first step to opening new markets for American goods and services. This is especially beneficial for Arkansas’s manufacturing and agriculture industries. Our farmers, welders, engineers, and many other hardworking people in these industries deserve trade deals that will help grow their operations and the local economy at the same time.

In East Asia alone, America's share of imports has fallen by 42 percent over the past ten years. This is problematic for many reasons, the greatest of which is China's growing influence in that region, as well as in the rest of the world.

TPA would provide precise direction to the President on the parameters of expanding trade in the Asia Pacific Region. This will allow us to increase American exports of manufactured and agricultural goods throughout Asia.