The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE REFORM” mentioning the Department of Interior was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H16839-H16840 on Dec. 19, 2007.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE REFORM
(Mr. BRALEY of Iowa asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my serious concerns that inadequate oversight, deficient procedures, and ethical lapses at the Department of Interior's Minerals Management Service
(MMS) are costing the Federal Government millions of dollars each year.
The MMS is responsible for negotiating, implementing and overseeing all Federal leases for resources removed by private companies from public lands, and it is supposed to be a guardian of our Nation's precious public resources.
Unfortunately, evidence suggests that the cozy relationships between MMS officials and oil and gas companies have allowed these companies to underreport the resources they remove from Federal lands and underpay the royalties they owe to the Federal Government. Evidence that MMS has failed to detect and pursue these violations by oil and gas companies is especially troubling as gas prices continue to rise, corporations make record profits, and average Americans are struggling to fill their gas tanks and make ends meet.
Most hard-working, taxpaying Americans would be outraged to know that these companies are cheating the Government out of these royalties which are a critical source of revenue for the U.S. Treasury and which would allow us to invest in other priorities.
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