John Barrasso

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Barrasso, Enzi Tell Purse Holders To Nix Net Receipt Sharing

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators John Barrasso and Mike Enzi, both R-Wyo., today asked Senate appropriators to disregard the Administration’s proposal to take tens of millions of dollars in mineral lease money from Wyoming and other energy producing states.

In a letter sent to Chair Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Ranking Member Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies, lead senator Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Enzi, Barrasso and 10 senators from other Western states urged the committee to leave out the “net receipt sharing” proposal from President Bush’s fiscal year 2009 budget for the Department of the Interior.  The proposal would reduce Wyoming ’s and other states’ share of federal mineral royalties on public domain lands from an equal 50/50 split to 49 percent, thereby increasing the federal share to 51 percent.  The two percent decline of the state share, authorities estimate, will result in a loss of about $20 million for Wyoming over the coming year.

“We understand that if this provision is once again enacted for fiscal year 2009, lost revenues to the states will be over $46 million.  Many states use this revenue for a variety of important purposes, including educational improvements.  Withdrawal of this revenue would have substantial unnecessary negative impacts for many Western States,” the senators wrote.  “We hope that as the Subcommittee considers its appropriations bill, you will decline to include the net receipt sharing proposal.  This provision would have a substantial and unnecessary adverse effect on the states.”

Although the President’s budget cited administrative costs as the reason to increase the federal cut, the federal government already collects mineral royalties.  The provision originally passed in the 2008 fiscal year as part of a mammoth omnibus spending bill that was quickly forced through the Senate with little debate in December.  Both Wyoming senators vocally opposed the omnibus appropriations bill and voted against it.

Now, Barrasso and Enzi are leading the charge against the net receipt sharing proposal in the Senate. The senators formed a coalition of legislators from affected states in January and took the first step toward effecting change by sending a letter in opposition of the provision to the Secretary of the Interior and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget on Jan. 29.  Yesterday, they worked to include an amendment in the Senate’s version of the fiscal year 2009 budget disapproving of the action in the omnibus bill.  The senators said they will continue to fight net receipt sharing to ensure that Wyoming’s share of its federal mineral royalties will be protected and put to use in Wyoming , not to pay more D.C. bureaucrats.