Lisa Murkowski

You do agree that it is's an important part of what this was all about?

Are you concerned that what might result is lower bonus bids coming out, less production on Federal lands, which then results in less revenue to the Treasury?

Will that information be shared publicly, or will there be provisions that will allow for protecting any trade secrets that might exist?

The congressional intent was that part of these new fees be used to expand the capacity so that we could expedite the orderly development of offshore there.

I'm still hearing from folks that they feel that the agency is still understaffed, and that is causing what they consider to be ongoing delays.

So, are you suggesting then that the cost benefit analysis will still be coming to us?

So, has there been any assessment on the impact to small businesses that may be on the Federal lands?

One of the concerns that I'm hearing from folks is that the concern that these will be overlapping or duplicative regulations that are coming out of BLM on top of what they already face within the States.

I do think it was prudent that we conducted this study.

What I'm trying to understand is whether or not our oil production, offshore and onshore, is up or down?

So the question that I have is, who's right here?

There's a consensus coming out of the report that says that a rate increase is not warranted.

I understand that. And I will, in probably my next round here, ask about some of those incentives or disincentives that we impose that kind of pushes, those that are in the exploration and production realm, to go from Federal lands to…

So I'm trying to understand our data here.

As Americans face steeply rising energy costs, it's important that this subcommittee ensure that the agencies that sit before us today have the resources that they need and the right policies are in place to maximize domestic production…

So that would be considered on a case-by-case basis?

You've got a long ways to go.

I think it causes developers to look to develop on State and private lands before they would turn to our public lands.

Well, we need to be working on this together, so I appreciate that.

But this is where the confusion is because the statistics are being used to suggest that there is this incredible increase in oil and gas production.

I want to try to better understand some statistics that are out there.

Improving the Department's performance is particularly important to me in light of recent Department of the Interior reports that indicate that while overall production domestically is at an all-time high, but it's not necessarily the case…

Would moving the F-16s from Eielson AFB to JBER require either an environmental analysis or an environmental impact statement (EIS)?

The relocation of the 18th Aggressor Squadron to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) should not be interpreted as the first step in a process that will lead to closure of the base.

I would certainly concur with that. And again, I would repeat my request, that you consider sending a general officer as part of that site survey.