Barbara Boxer: “What the Hutchison amendment does is it puts off for the fourth time any move by the Interior Department to fix the…”

“What the Hutchison amendment does is it puts off for the fourth time any move by the Interior Department to fix the problem we are facing with this underpayment of the royalties that are due the taxpayers. The Interior Department has held a series of 17 meetings across the country. They have met with the oil companies, they have met with Members of Congress, they have done everything, and they are ready to finalize a rule. Every time they are ready to promulgate a rule to fix this problem, up comes one of the Senators from the oil States who says: Oh, wait, wait, wait, it is too complicated; it isn't a good idea. It isn't a good idea from the oil companies' perspective because as we just heard this one whistleblower say, they want to put off the day of judgment and use this float to make more and more money. But my friend is right in his questions.”