Political Quotes

“I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, we've heard this argument and this debate and this issue before. This is nothing but a recycled version of the old use-it- or-lose-it argument that we've heard so many times, but this time it's disguised as an effort to reduce nonproducing leases. This amendment is based on a completely unsubstantiated premise, which is that oil companies are sitting on oil and gas leases, therefore rendering them inactive--at least that's how the claim goes-- if they are not diligently drilling for and producing oil. This is important, Mr. Chairman. Use it or lose it is already the law of the land. Why? Because every lease on Federal land currently includes development language requiring moving forward by the energy companies, and if a company does not produce within those lease terms, then the lease reverts back to the government. Now, keep in mind, picture this: A company is paying money for a lease and there are certain conditions in this lease for them to produce in a time period. If they don't produce in that time period, it reverts back to the government. Is that not use it or lose it? That's the law of the land as it is a part of the lease sales. So, just because a lease sale is not actively producing, that doesn't mean that there's not work on that lease sale. Leases can be held for up to 7 or 10 years because studies or permitting or even lawsuits slow that process down.…”