A coalition of Democratic lawmakers is seeking to block fossil fuel companies from accessing financial assistance programs set up by the recent pandemic relief legislation.
The measure, introduced Tuesday by 30 House members and nine senators, would expressly cut out fossil fuel companies from the pandemic relief programs administered by the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve, according to a fact sheet. That would include the so-called Main Street loan program, for which the Trump administration recently expanded the eligibility in a way that benefits oil companies struggling from cheap prices and low demand.
“It would be unconscionable to bail out big oil and gas corporations with money intended to help families, workers, and small businesses survive this global pandemic,” said Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragan of California, the lead sponsor of the bill in the House.
The Democratic bill would also seek to unravel or hamstring other Trump administration efforts to aid the oil and gas industry.
For example, the measure would block new fossil fuel leases on federal lands until the coronavirus national emergency is lifted. The legislation would restrict the interior secretary’s ability to reduce royalty rates on federal lands and waters, as well as for offshore drilling — a move Trump officials have said they would consider on a case-by-case basis.
The Democratic bill would also cap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at its current limit and make clear that the reserve can’t be used to store private oil, the fact sheet says.
The Trump administration had initially sought $3 billion to purchase cheap oil to fill the SPR. Though that amount was included in an initial draft of the CARES Act, it didn’t make the final cut, and the Department of Energy instead has said it will rent storage space in the SPR to nine companies, including Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Equinor.
The Democratic legislation won’t get reception with the Republican majority in the Senate, many of whom have pressured President Trump to do even more to help struggling oil and shale companies. Nonetheless, the legislation is a political marker for where many left-wing Democrats stand as negotiations heat up over the next round of coronavirus relief.
It isn’t clear yet whether energy-specific provisions will be included in this next round of talks.
Barragan is joined on the bill by big-name liberals, including Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, Jared Huffman of California, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
Jeff Merkley of Oregon is leading the bill on the Senate side, joined by several former Democratic presidential candidates, including Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
Several environmental groups have endorsed the legislation, including the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, Center for Biological Diversity, and Friends of the Earth.
