News Flash, the contracts were negotiated by the Department of Interior, and department within the executive branch. So how did politicians and Congress get involved with this endeavor???? The last time I checked the members of the Department of Interior were bureaucrats. Again, it is easy to assume anything.

The in good faith means that two entities entered into negotiations and came to an agreement, an agreement in which both parties had expectations to fulfill. Now after the fact, we see that the government wants to punish the companies for upholding their end of the agreement. Unless the companies are willing to pay for being successful in order to obtain new leases, they will not be granted the new leases.

No one complained when the contracts were agreed upon in 1998, everybody was happy to have a source of oil available, but lo and behold, suddenly OPEC stiffened the flow and prices increased, and now Congress is bent out of shape.

Our problem remains our dependence on foreign oil. Perhaps if we had more domestic oil this would not be a problem. But god forbid that we actually drill the oil we have in this country, cause when it comes down to it, the life of a caribou is always more valued than the life and livelihood of the poor.

dmk