Democrats Fight Back As Trump Attempts To Add Oil Industry Bailout To Coronavirus Relief Package

BY SEAN COLAROSSI at Politicus USA

Democrats Fight Back As Trump Attempts To Add Oil Industry Bailout To Coronavirus Relief Package

https://www.politicususa.com/2020/03/17/democrats-fight-back-as-trump-attempts-to-add-oil-company-bailout-to-coronavirus-relief-package.html

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House Democrats are fighting back against Donald Trump’s attempt to use the coronavirus outbreak as an excuse to divert public funds to the oil and gas industry.

As PoliticusUSA’s Jason Easley noted last week, citing a Washington Post report, the Trump administration was – and is – pursuing handouts for the oil and gas sector as the pandemic wreaks havoc on the global economy.

But a growing number of Democrats are pushing back against the move, instead urging the president to focus on stopping the spread of the virus and provide much-needed aid to the growing number of Americans in desperate need of it.

More via The Hill:

Twenty House Democrats sent a letter to President Trump on Tuesday cautioning against dolling out further funds to the fossil fuel industry after the White House announced late last week that the government would purchase oil to shore up the industry.

“Diverting public funds to bail out this industry will do nothing to stop the spread of this deadly virus or provide relief to those in need,” lawmakers wrote in a letter spearheaded by Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.).

“A bailout tells the American public that fossil fuel investors can rely on U.S. taxpayers to cover their bills when the industry’s corporate executives’ risky investments don’t pan out.”

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