CHAPTER 3 STATEMENT OF REPRESENTATIVE BARBARA CUBIN FOR THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN MINERAL LAW INSTITUTE TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1998

• Jurisdiction: United States

Federal & Indian Oil & Gas Royalty Valuation and Management II
(Feb 1998)
CHAPTER 3
STATEMENT OF REPRESENTATIVE BARBARA CUBIN FOR THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN MINERAL LAW INSTITUTE TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1998
Barbara Cubin
U.S. House of Representatives for the State of Wyoming
Washington, D.C.

I regret that I can't be with you in Houston today. Had it not been for the major back surgery I had to have in October, travel would have been much easier. Although I am recuperating nicely, I still move slowly, get tired rather easily and my doctor has warned me against trying to do too much at once.

I know most, if not all, of you have experienced rocky paths to getting things accomplished, particularly under the strict reins of the Clinton Administration, so I thought I'd share a story with you that I think you will appreciate. It's entitled "Noah in Modern Times."

And the Lord spoke to Noah and said: "In six months I'm going to make it rain until the whole earth is covered with water and all the evil people are destroyed. But I want to save a few good people and two of every kind of living thing on the planet. I am ordering you to build me an ark." And in a flash of lightening he delivered the specifications for the ark. "Ok," said Noah, trembling in fear and fumbling with the blueprints. "Six months, and it starts raining," thundered the Lord. "You'd better have my ark completed, or learn how to swim for a very long time."

And six months passed. The skies began to cloud up and rain began to fall. The Lord saw that Noah was sitting in his front yard, weeping. And there was no ark. "Noah," shouted the Lord, "where is my ark?" A lightning bolt crashed to the ground next to Noah. "Lord, please forgive me!" begged Noah. "I did my best, but there were big problems."

"First I had to get a building permit for the ark construction project, and your plans didn't meet the code. So I had to hire an engineer to redraw the plans. Then I got into a big fight over whether or not the ark needed a fire sprinkler system. My neighbors objected, claiming I was violating zoning by building the ark in my front yard, so I had to get a variance from the city planning commission. Then I had a big problem getting enough wood for the ark because there was a ban on cutting trees to save the spotted owl. I had to convince the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that I needed wood to save the owls. But they wouldn't let me catch any owls. So no owls. Then the carpenters formed a union and...