New York Times
By JOHN M. BRODER Published: September 16, 2009WASHINGTON The Interior Department is ending the oil and gas royalty program that ignited a major scandal last year when it was revealed that federal employees had engaged in corruption, drug use and sexual misconduct with industry officials.
Mark Wilson/Getty ImagesInterior Secretary Ken Salazar, shown here on Monday, said on Wednesday that his department is to phase out an oil and gas royalty program that ignited a major corruption scandal last year.
The Interior secretary, Ken Salazar, told a House committee on Wednesday morning that he was phasing out the royalty-in-kind program administered by the agencys Minerals Management Service. The program allows oil companies to pay the government in oil and gas rather than in cash for the right to drill on federal lands. Recent audits have shown that the government failed to collect tens of millions of dollars in royalties owed under the program.