The White House’s $12 billion discretionary budget request for the Department of the Interior proposes legislative reforms to bolster administrative actions to reform the management of the department’s onshore and offshore oil and gas programs.
That includes a focus on improving taxpayer returns on the private sale of national resources (the Treasury took in about $13 billion in 2013 from fees, royalties and other payments) and on improving transparency and oversight. OMB notes that GAO and Interior’s inspector general have found that policy changes and greater oversight could yield better returns.
In particular the White House says it is focusing on advancing royalty reforms, encouraging diligent development of oil and gas leases, and improving revenue collection processes, and estimates it can gain another $2.5 billion in net revenue to the Treasury over 10 years.
