Rep. Richard Pombo, the chairman of the House Resources Committee, launched an investigation on Wednesday into the Interior Department's "royalty relief" program.

Pombo asked Interior Secretary Gale Norton for a wide range of documents related to the program in response to a New York Times story published on Tuesday. The story reported that DOI planned to give away $7 billion in oil and gas royalties over the next five years.

The Times also published a story last month that said DOI essentially gave away $700 million in royalties under the relief program. Norton claimed the story was inaccurate.

Get the Story:
Congressman Starts Inquiry of Windfall to Oil Companies (The New York Times 2/16)
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