Feingold: The Lying Liar Lies Again

You have to admit that Russ has chutzpah--he puts his lies in print before 300,000 readers (or so) of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Too bad for Rusty that the JS also asked for a response from someone who actually knows something about the topic at hand.

So the fun begins.

Rusty, the Lying Liar: While the oil companies have tens of millions of acres of federal lands under lease, only a quarter of that land is actually producing oil. I thought I’d start out by asking these executives why that was. The oil executives had no explanation.

Erin Roth, Truth-Squad Leader: First of all, the term "oil" lease is a misnomer. It should be called an "access lease to determine whether oil is present."

Oil companies pay the government for a lease. These leases are not indefinite...they do expire. The companies are not allowed to determine the viability of a property until they actually have the lease. Once they have access, they undertake tests to determine if oil is present. If it is, they then have to determine if it is economically feasible to extract it.

...if the oil sits under 2,000 feet of granite, it probably isn't worth drilling for, even at $150 a barrel. If drilling is feasible, then the government must grant a permit, which does not always happen.

Rusty, the Lying Liar: More than 100 billion barrels of oil and gas resources are currently available on federal lands already leased or available for leasing by oil companies. (See above "feasible" and "permits required.")

• Between 1999 and 2007, the federal government increased the number of drilling permits by 361%. While the Bureau of Land Management issued 28,776 permits to drill on public land in the last four years, wells have not been drilled on over a third (9,822). (See above "feasible" and "Permits required." Also see "capital--derived from PROFITS--required")

Rusty, the Lying Liar: The truth is that current federal law allows oil companies to sit on leases for the entire length of the lease term, which is typically 10 years, and there are no requirements that they develop the lands

Erin, the Truth Squad Leader: No matter what occurs on the property, the government still receives billions of dollars in lease payments from oil companies, even if the land is dry

Rusty, the Lying Liar: After all, the quickest way to produce more oil is to develop lands already under lease since exploration is underway, leases and many drilling permits are ready to go and the infrastructure, including miles and miles of pipeline, is already in place (Like off the coast of California, Rusty, where the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS BANNED EXTRACTION and where the derricks are already in place? And, by the way, "permits are ready to go" is weasel-wording for "not yet issued," Rusty. Even 5th graders understand that one.)

Erin, the Truth Squad Leader: Every step of the way, huge amounts of time are needed to obtain the series of permits that allow this development. In short, leases are not "idle" while all the preparatory work goes on.

Rusty, the Lying Liar: I support responsible efforts to increase domestic production. (We know that "responsible" means only what you say it means, on that particular day, Rusty. By the way, Rusty, what have you done for nuclear power lately??)

Erin, the Truth Squad Leader: What should not be lost in this debate is the inescapable fact that access to additional federal lands is crucial to expanding available supplies

Rusty, the Lying Liar: Congress must provide the leadership to break the stranglehold that oil has over the lives of our citizens and our economy

Either that, Rusty, you Lying Liar, or the citizens will provide a stranglehold on Congressional throats. At least some Senators will then stop lying with every breath.

HT: Sykes