I know Pombo’s in thrall to the energy industry and all, but this is really un-effing-believable:

Tucked into a massive energy bill that would open the outer continental shelf to oil drilling are provisions that would slash future royalties owed to the federal government by companies prospecting in Rocky Mountain oil shale deposits.

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Sponsored by Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., and passed by the House this year, the bill would amend a requirement that the federal government receive a "fair return" from oil companies that hold oil shale leases on public lands.

Instead, Pombo’s bill, modeled after a Canadian law, would reduce royalties from the customary 12.5 percent of annual revenue to 1 percent.

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(via Atrios)