In a letter, Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett urge Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to release an inspector general's report that reportedly exonerates the controversial December 2008 Utah BLM oil and gas leases sale. Say the senators:

"It has been brought to our attention that the [Interior] Department's Inspector General has issued an investigative report related to the lease sale that indicates that it is the Inspector General's conclusion that no inappropriate actions occurred in relation to the sale. This appears to run counter to the justifications that we have been given in the past for the administration's decision to cancel the oil and gas leases.

"Given the uncertainty of oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico right now, we believe that it is essential that Congress, in exercising its oversight responsibilities, be given access to these documents so that it may draw its own conclusions about the importance of producing oil and natural gas from federal lands."