There are five compelling reasons why the next Congress should not renew the decades-old congressional ban on drilling for domestic oil and natural gas in areas now considered off-limits, according to a new study: Jobs, revenue, economic growth, public demand, and energy independence.

Developing U.S. domestic energy resources would create up to 160,000 new high-paying American jobs, including 5 million “green” jobs, and generate $1.7 trillion in new royalties for federal and state governments. Since the energy industry is one of the few bright spots in the U.S. economy, it could help pull the rest of the nation out of recession. Sixty-eight percent of Americans say they want more domestic drilling, according to exit polls. Finally, every added barrel of domestically produced oil is one less that has to be bought from OPEC.