Madam Speaker I rise today to express my serious concerns that inadequate oversight, efficient procedures, and unethical lapses at the Department of Interior Minerals Management Services are costing to federal government millions of dollars each year. The MMS is responsible for negotiating, implementing and overseeing all federal leases for resources removed by private companies from public lands. And is supposed to be a guarding of our nation's precious public resources.

Unfortunately evidence suggests that the cozy relationships between MMS officials and oil and gas companies have allowed these companies to underreport the resources they remove from federal lands and underpay the royalties they owe to the federal government. Evidence that MMS has failed to detect and pursue these violations by oil and gas companies is especially troubling as gas prices continue to rise, corporations make record profits and average American are struggling to fill their gas tanks and make ends meet. Most hard working tax paying Americans would be outraged to know that these companies are cheating the government out of this royalties, which are a critical source of revenue for the U.S. treasury and which would allow us to invest in another priorities.