On December 18, President Obama signed into law H.R. 2029, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016, otherwise known as the Omnibus Appropriations bill. This $1.15 trillion measure funded the Federal Government though Fiscal Year 2016, and also contained the Tax Extenders bill. Included in this seemingly unrelated Omnibus package were provisions that ended the 40-year prohibition on the export of crude oil produced in the United States. When the 114th Congress was convened in January 2015, it was clear that crude exports would be one of the pressing issues of the Congressional session, but the outcome was uncertain. What was certain was that the timing before the 2016 election year would be a key driver for proponents.