[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 18 (Tuesday, February 14, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S1180]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 372--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT OIL AND 
 GAS COMPANIES SHOULD NOT BE PROVIDED OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF ROYALTY 
            RELIEF WHEN ENERGY PRICES ARE AT HISTORIC HIGHS

  Mr. KERRY submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources:

                              S. Res. 372

       Whereas the Federal Government is on the verge of one of 
     the biggest oil and gas giveaways in American history, 
     costing American taxpayers at least $7,000,000,000 in lost 
     revenue over the next 5 years;
       Whereas according to the budget plan of the Department of 
     the Interior, it is projected that the Government will allow 
     companies to pump approximately $65,000,000,000 worth of oil 
     and natural gas from Federal territory over the next 5 years 
     without paying any royalties to the Government;
       Whereas the Minerals Management Service of the Department 
     of the Interior, which oversees the leases and collects the 
     royalties, estimates that the amount of royalty-free oil will 
     quadruple by 2011, to 112,000,000 barrels;
       Whereas the volume of royalty-free natural gas is expected 
     to climb by almost half, to about 1,200,000,000,000 cubic 
     feet by 2011;
       Whereas approximately 30 percent of all oil and over 20 
     percent of all gas produced in the United States comes from 
     the outer Continental Shelf;
       Whereas it was the intent of Congress to provide royalty 
     relief to promote exploration and production in deep waters 
     of the outer Continental Shelf only at a time when oil and 
     gas prices were comparatively low;
       Whereas the Department of the Interior has always insisted 
     that companies should not be entitled to royalty relief if 
     market prices for oil and gas climbed above certain trigger 
     points;
       Whereas the 12 United States oil companies in the Standard 
     & Poor's 500 that have reported fourth-quarter results have 
     seen an average 48 percent rise in earnings and are expected 
     to see full-year earnings of $96,500,000,000;
       Whereas the profit growth for oil companies is not nearing 
     an end, with energy analysts expecting 15 percent growth in 
     earnings at those companies in 2006;
       Whereas, at the same time oil and gas companies are posting 
     record profits, families in the United States are struggling 
     with record energy costs including a 48 percent increase in 
     the cost of natural gas for this heating season and a 
     projected 7.3 percent increase in gasoline price from the 
     previous year;
       Whereas the Energy Information Administration projects that 
     these prices will hold steady or increase over the course of 
     the next 2 years; and
       Whereas royalty revenues benefit 38 States, 41 Indian 
     tribes, and fund the National Historic Preservation Fund, and 
     the Land and Water Conservation Fund: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) the Minerals Management Service should suspend all 
     future royalty relief until the Secretary can ensure that the 
     citizens of the United States receive a fair return from oil 
     and gas resources from the outer Continental Shelf; and
       (2) Congress must take steps to ensure that the oil and gas 
     industry does not receive a windfall and is not unjustly 
     enriched at the expense of the citizens of the United States.

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