Shaheen Campaign Calls On John Sununu To Return $12,000 In Donations From Oil Company At Center Of Oil And Gas Royalties Scandal In Department Of Interior
Friday September 12, 2008
Friday September 12, 2008
Investigation found that lax Bush administration oversight allowed Chevron, oil companies to avoid paying full royalties, costing tax payers over $4 million
(Manchester, NH) – Jeanne Shaheen for Senate today called on John Sununu to return $12,000 in campaign contributions from Chevron, the massive oil company that refused to cooperate with the federal investigation into wrongdoing at the Department of Interior. The investigation revealed on Wednesday that lax Bush administration oversight has permitted the oil companies to evade paying taxpayers over $4.4 million in royalties on the leases they hold. Department of Interior employees violated ethics rules by accepting gifts from the oil and gas companies and in return, cut them special deals and shared confidential information with the companies to help them lower their bids on projects.
"Under George Bush and John Sununu, Big Oil has been given a free pass while New Hampshire families pay the price," said Kate Bedingfield, communications director for Jeanne Shaheen for Senate. "Chevron refused to cooperate with an investigation into government officials giving them special treatment. John Sununu should stand with the taxpayers, not with his Big Oil buddies and their cronyism. He should return the $12,000 Chevron has given his campaign."
Sununu's Big Oil Cronies Obstruct Investigation Into Special Favors
• "Inspector General Earl E. Devaney said the investigations took so long because Chevron refused to cooperate. An Interior Department official said Chevron would not allow investigators to interview its employees." [Associated Press, 9/11/08]
• "On one occasion, the report said, the royalty-in-kind program allowed a Chevron representative who had won a bid to purchase some of the government's oil to pay taxpayers a lower amount than his winning offer because he said he had made a mistake in his calculations. A report from Mr. Devaney's office earlier this year found that the program had frequently allowed companies that purchased the oil and gas to revise their bids downward after they won contracts. It documented 118 such occasions that cost taxpayers about $4.4 million in all." [New York Times, 9/10/08]
• "The report also detailed cozy relationships between energy companies and other officials in the royalty-in-kind program office. Some 19 officials — a third of the staff — took gifts from oil and gas executives, some with 'prodigious frequency,' it said." [New York Times, 9/10/08]
• Chevron made $11 billion in profits in the first two quarters of 2008. [East Bay Business Times, 8/1/08; Atlanta Business Chronicle,5/2/08]
• John Sununu has received $12,000 in campaign contributions from Chevron. [Center for Responsive Politics]
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(Manchester, NH) – Jeanne Shaheen for Senate today called on John Sununu to return $12,000 in campaign contributions from Chevron, the massive oil company that refused to cooperate with the federal investigation into wrongdoing at the Department of Interior. The investigation revealed on Wednesday that lax Bush administration oversight has permitted the oil companies to evade paying taxpayers over $4.4 million in royalties on the leases they hold. Department of Interior employees violated ethics rules by accepting gifts from the oil and gas companies and in return, cut them special deals and shared confidential information with the companies to help them lower their bids on projects.
"Under George Bush and John Sununu, Big Oil has been given a free pass while New Hampshire families pay the price," said Kate Bedingfield, communications director for Jeanne Shaheen for Senate. "Chevron refused to cooperate with an investigation into government officials giving them special treatment. John Sununu should stand with the taxpayers, not with his Big Oil buddies and their cronyism. He should return the $12,000 Chevron has given his campaign."
Sununu's Big Oil Cronies Obstruct Investigation Into Special Favors
• "Inspector General Earl E. Devaney said the investigations took so long because Chevron refused to cooperate. An Interior Department official said Chevron would not allow investigators to interview its employees." [Associated Press, 9/11/08]
• "On one occasion, the report said, the royalty-in-kind program allowed a Chevron representative who had won a bid to purchase some of the government's oil to pay taxpayers a lower amount than his winning offer because he said he had made a mistake in his calculations. A report from Mr. Devaney's office earlier this year found that the program had frequently allowed companies that purchased the oil and gas to revise their bids downward after they won contracts. It documented 118 such occasions that cost taxpayers about $4.4 million in all." [New York Times, 9/10/08]
• "The report also detailed cozy relationships between energy companies and other officials in the royalty-in-kind program office. Some 19 officials — a third of the staff — took gifts from oil and gas executives, some with 'prodigious frequency,' it said." [New York Times, 9/10/08]
• Chevron made $11 billion in profits in the first two quarters of 2008. [East Bay Business Times, 8/1/08; Atlanta Business Chronicle,5/2/08]
• John Sununu has received $12,000 in campaign contributions from Chevron. [Center for Responsive Politics]
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