The U.S. House voted 261-159 to lift the 40-year-old ban on crude oil exports on Friday.

The Congressional Western Caucus, chaired by U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), said lifting the ban will increase American energy production and spur economic growth.

The export ban was put in place in 1975 in response to the Arab oil embargo. Since then the U.S. has become a leading producer of oil in the world, but the policy hasn't changed, jeopardizing the ability of American production to stay globally competitive, the Western Caucus said in a news release.

“So much has changed in the 40 years since the crude oil export ban was imposed and it is past time for a 21st century energy policy that puts American crude on the international market,” Lummis said in a statement. “Allowing American producers and workers to compete on the global market will create jobs and lower gasoline prices according multiple independent experts and federal agencies. It will also strengthen our global influence and help our allies. Lifting this ban is long overdue and I am pleased to see a bipartisan majority in the people’s House vote to lift it.”

According to the Congressional Western Caucus, lifting the ban will:

• Generate $1.4 billion in profits to the federal government over the next 10 years from federal mineral royalties, according to Congressional Budget Office. This increase production will also increase state level revenues from increased oil production on federal, state, and private lands.

• Lifting the ban is likely to lower the price of gasoline and diesel fuel for American consumers, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. Government Accountability Office, Congressional Budget Office, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

• Create an estimated 394,000 additional U.S. jobs over the 2016-30 period, with a peak of 964,000 in 2018, according to IHS.