"I am deeply disappointed that the Senate put the interests of big oil ahead of America's schoolchildren. Today's vote is a victory for the special interests and high-priced lobbyists and a loss for every federally supported program, because their funding will be thinned to pay for this give-away to big oil.

"If this Republican, anti-environment rider stays in the bill, then the taxpayers will lose out -- to the tune of over sixty-six million dollars each year. I call on the Conferees to reject this misguided provision and, failing that, urge the President to veto the bill.

"So that we can put this issue behind us once and for all, I will soon be introducing legislation to end this give-away by requiring oil companies to pay royalties based on the fair market value of the oil they produce."

Congresswoman Maloney has led efforts to force big oil companies to pay royalties based on the fair market value of the oil they produce. At her urging, the House Subcommittee on Government Management, Information and Technology has held two hearings to investigate the fraudulent practices of big oil companies which deliberately underpay the royalties they owe. Earlier this year, Congresswoman Maloney issued a report, based on internal company documents, which showed that big oil companies used a variety of complex trading devices to underpay the royalties they owed to the federal government.