Ron Wyden: “I do. And in response specifically to the Senator, nothing in the amendment says that threshold couldn't be lower. Of…”

“I do. And in response specifically to the Senator, nothing in the amendment says that threshold couldn't be lower. Of course, the threshold should be addressed in a responsible way. All we are saying is that we are not going to shovel taxpayer money out when it is over $55 a barrel. But nothing in my amendment says the threshold couldn't be lower, and that is why it better targets the resources and would do something about it. Again, the General Accounting Office is not some group with a political ax to grind; it is the Government Accountability Office, the people we hire as our auditors who have been talking about all the waste in this program. As the distinguished chair of the committee knows because he has seen the letter from the Senators, this program is so riddled--so riddled-- with questionable issues, the companies don't even give the same facts to the government. They say one thing to the Securities and Exchange Commission and say another thing to the Department of the Interior, and the Department of the Interior people say: Well, we don't know what to make of it. So I am very glad the Senator is on the floor, and if the Senator would be willing to work with me, I am interested in trying to do what Senator Kyl and I and Senator Lieberman have been working on with this bipartisan amendment. But in response to the particular point made by the chairman of the committee, nothing in this amendment says that the threshold couldn't be lower, and obviously it needs to be.…”