This Is a Start, But Dems Must Get Tougher

Oil's Corrupting Influence

Just when the American people think they have heard it all about oil company corruption, a new report just released by the Inspector General of the Interior Department documents a "culture of ethical failure" in the office of the Mineral Management Service, the federal agency in charge of offshore drilling.

 

Government officials handling billions of dollars in oil royalties partied, had sex with and accepted golf and ski outings from employees of energy companies they were dealing with.  Chevron, Shell, Hess Corp, and Gary-Williams Energy Corp., were all named according to the report.  Secretary of the Interior Dick Kempthorne promised swift action to restore the public trust, and said he was outraged by the immoral behavior, illegal activities and appalling misconduct.

 

None of this would have happened if the energy companies involved would not have offered this illegal and unethical activity to the government employees.  Mr. Kempthorne should have equally harsh words for the oil companies also.  Energy companies who do this are worse than the people who accept their favors and should be branded as such.  There can be no corruption without those who corrupt.

 

Elected officials need to completely cut contact with representatives of the oil companies and treat them like they do the average taxpayer.  Those who corrupt care nothing about the people, only greed and unethical behavior.  Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-WV) of the House Natural Resources plans to hold congressional hearings on the report.

 

Once again this is just another example (too many to number) of a given agency operating without any checks and balances or oversight that is so familiar to the Bush ideology of non regulation.  Secretary Kempthorne followed that script for his department.

 

The minerals management services royalty in kind program handles billions of dollars and the program was supposed to take a business model approach but officials donned a private-sector approach to everything they did, often flounting government ethics rules the report also said.

 

Oil companies, the same guys who are putting pressure on Congress to open up offshore drilling while at the same time refusing to drill on millions of acres they own or lease in the United States.  Congress should tell them to go take a hike.