HOUSE BACKS SWEEPING ENERGY BILL TO BOOST OIL, NATURAL GAS

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House has approved a sweeping bill to boost U.S. energy production, lift a four-decade ban on crude oil exports and modernize the aging electric grid.

The vote was 249-174.

The bill also would speed natural gas exports and hasten approval of natural gas pipelines across public lands. It also would advance cross-border projects such as the Keystone XL oil pipeline, which lingered for more than seven years before being rejected last month by President Barack Obama.