Kay Bailey Hutchison: “I want to answer some of the arguments that have been made earlier in the debate. First, it keeps being said that the…”

“I want to answer some of the arguments that have been made earlier in the debate. First, it keeps being said that the oil companies are not paying their fair share, that they are in lawsuits about it, and that they have been settling the lawsuits and therefore they must be guilty. All of this is totally separate from the amendment before us today. There is a disagreement between the oil companies and several States about how the valuations under the present regulation have been made. I want the oil companies to pay their fair share. So does the Senator from California, so does the Senator from New Mexico, so does the Senator from Louisiana. These matters are in court, and they will be settled in court. They have nothing to do with the amendment before us today. In fact, as the Senator from New Mexico and the Senator from Louisiana have said, the oil royalty valuation process is very complicated. The new MMS proposal is very complicated. In fact, I would make the case that we do not change anything in the process as far as making it clear what is owed. It is just a matter of the Mineral Management Service raising the rates on oil companies at a time when oil prices are at an all-time low.”