Mitch Landrieu: “The oil industry is reorganizing itself in such a way that all it is asking for... is a fair rule that is clearly…”

“The oil industry is reorganizing itself in such a way that all it is asking for... is a fair rule that is clearly understood so that they can pay their fair share, get out of the courtrooms, cut their cost of their lawyers and accountants, pay the taxpayers their fair share, and get on with their business. It is in nobody's interest for this to continue in this way--not for business, not for jobs, not for the taxpayer. That is what this argument is about... Most of the oil companies I know do not want to cheat. Most of the oil companies are happy to pay their tab, they just would like a clear signal about what tab it is that they owe. And they do not want to spend their time in court. I am afraid if we let this rule go through, we are going to spend more time in court, waste more taxpayer money and not move us 5 feet down the ballfield on this subject. So that is why I am opposing Senator Boxer's amendment and supporting to give us additional time to work out some language so that everybody can pay their fair share, and the taxpayers can benefit, and we can all get out of the courtrooms and get on to running our businesses.”