Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) introduced legislation this May proposing increased U.S. oil production in order to enact full sanctions on Iranian oil imports. Proponents of the bill hope to attenuate Iran’s economy, which collects approximately 70 percent of its revenue through oil exports, and to cripple its controversial nuclear program. Inhofe’s bill, the Iran Sanctions Implementation Act of 2013, calls for the U.S. to produce 1.25 million more barrels of oil per day to displace oil imports from Iran and ease potential disruptions in global markets. Inhofe’s bill would accomplish this by requiring the President to declare enough federal lands as “Iranian Oil Replacement Zones,” thereby freeing them of federal restrictions under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and turning regulation directly over to the states.

Inhofe’s bill comes as a group of bipartisan senators released Senate Resolution 65, which calls for the full implementation of U.S. sanctions on Iran.