On the recordOctober 26, 2011
I thank the gentleman for yielding. I would just point out, if we want to address the royalty issue on this and other mining ventures, let's address the Mining Act of 1872. There were attempts to do this in the nineties, attempts to increase royalties or impose a 5 percent royalty, and many on the other side of the aisle opposed that measure. And so there have been a few attempts. I would encourage, let's go back to it. But this is not the place to do it. We can't do it here on this one bill. And make no mistake about it; this is an attempt to kill this legislation, nothing else. It's not an attempt to garner the taxpayer more revenue. This is an attempt to kill the bill. I would encourage rejection of the amendment and adoption of the bill.
