Barbara Boxer: “Here is where we are. Here is the market price, the real price. You know, this is a capitalistic system. I am stunned by…”

“Here is where we are. Here is the market price, the real price. You know, this is a capitalistic system. I am stunned by my friends on the other side of the aisle. I used to be a stockbroker, so I know what supply and demand means. A market price is supply and demand. It is the fair price. When the market price goes down, the royalty payment goes down. When the market price goes up, the royalty payment goes up. But they are not paying on the market price, these 5 percent of the companies who own their affiliates and sell to their affiliates. They make up the price and they pay a royalty on that price. How would you like to be able to do that in your life? It is a pretty sweet deal; and it is wrong. I think that the various States are saying, thank you very much to the Minerals Management Service for moving forward. All of them here are saying: We commend you. ``The Minerals Management Service must be complimented,'' said Wyoming's Governor in 1997. Louisiana said it, Alaska said it. I withhold for the remainder of the debate.”