Mike Enzi: “I want to take a minute before the Senate adjourns to thank a few Members who have been very helpful on an issue of…”

“I want to take a minute before the Senate adjourns to thank a few Members who have been very helpful on an issue of critical importance to my state. Yesterday evening, the Senate adopted by unanimous consent, S. 2500, a bill to preserve the sanctity of existing leases and contracts for production of methane gas from coal beds. An affirmative U.S. Government policy has been the legal basis for these contracts for nearly eighteen years and it was the intent of this bill to preserve the existing rights of all the parties in light of legal uncertainties cast by a July 20, 1998, 10th Circuit Court of Appeals decision. On September 18, I introduced the bill to protect these people, with my colleagues, Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico and Senator Craig Thomas of Wyoming. The affected people live all across America, but most of the actual lands are in the western states, primarily New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. The circumstances faced by interest owners would be severe. Personal and corporate bankruptcies would have led to local bank insolvencies and the multiplying effect on unemployment and loss of confidence in western states would have been devastating. In this time when Congress is working to offer a $4-7 billion aid package to provide certainty for crop farmers, I am pleased that we have been able to reach agreement to provide some certainty for people in the oil patch--and we did it without spending a single federal dime.”