Friday, September 19, 2008

The Department of Partying

Might fire them?

"Might?"


"Interior secretary weighs firings; Considers steps after scandal" by Dina Cappiello, Associated Press | September 19, 2008

WASHINGTON - Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne told Congress yesterday that he is considering firing employees in his department's oil royalties office who investigators say were receiving lavish gifts, partying, and having sexual relationships with oil company officials.

The office is responsible for marketing billions of dollars worth of oil and natural gas that energy companies barter to the government in lieu of cash royalty payments for drilling on federal lands, a program known as royalty in kind.

See: Royalty Rip Off

Kempthorne said he was also considering random drug testing for employees. The royalty-in-kind program employees were not subject to drug testing, Kempthorne said.

Ha, ha, ha! I love it! Go piss in a cup, fed!!!!

Last week, in three separate reports, the Interior Department's inspector general, Earl E. Devaney, alleged that 13 employees in Washington and Denver were rigging bids, accepting expensive gifts, and partying with oil company employees from 2002 to 2006.

Several employees in the office were using marijuana and cocaine, according to the reports, and one-third of the 55 employees in the Denver office accepted gifts from oil and gas companies.

The nine employees targeted by the investigation accepted snowboarding lessons, ski and golf trips, and concert tickets from four oil companies - Shell, Chevron Corp., Hess Corp. and Denver-based Gary-Williams Energy Corp. - that were doing business with the government. A Hess official said the company only paid for lunch on several occasions.

Some lawmakers yesterday asked what the Interior Department was doing about the industry's behavior. "What's the standard of conduct you're developing for the people having conduct with the United States government?" asked Representative George Miller, Democrat of California. "What about the behavior by the private sector here?"

Earlier this week, the House passed legislation that would expand offshore drilling, increasing the royalties collected by the federal government. The bill also would establish penalties and jail time for oil executives and department employees who receive improper gifts.

--more--"