Bingaman on RIK Announcement
September 16, 2009
05:58 PM
In 2007, given the widely reported and well documented problems that the Interior Department was having with its royalty collection programs, Chairman Bingaman joined in a request to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to assess the current state of the Royalty-in-Kind (RIK) Program. That program allows the Interior Department to collect royalty payments in the form of oil and gas instead of cash. Given the growth of the program over the years, its impact on the Treasury and the problems that the Department has had with recordkeeping and management, Sen. Bingaman felt that it was essential for GAO to thoroughly review the program to ensure that American taxpayers are getting the value they deserve.
Apparently they’re not. On Monday, the GAO reported that energy companies owe the Federal government millions of dollars in royalties from oil and natural gas produced on public lands, AND that the Interior Department is ill-equipped to collect the debt. Here is Bingaman’s reaction to the Department’s news today that it is terminating the controversial RIK program:
Chairman Jeff Bingaman: “GAO’s rebuke of the way Interior collects royalties is just the latest red flag that the American people are not getting a fair return for the oil and gas resources that they own. We’ll be taking a careful look at the Administration’s proposals to overhaul the flawed royalty management program.”
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