Washington, DC — Today, Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced the End Polluter Welfare Act, legislation to close tax loopholes and eliminate other federal subsidies for the oil, gas, and coal industries. The bill would also stop the Trump administration from further exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to bail out struggling fossil fuel corporations by preventing banks receiving CARES Act funds from becoming owners of distressed oil and gas assets, blocking the waiving of royalty payments for public oil and gas leases, preventing the storage of private oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and putting a moratorium on new fossil fuel lease sales.
In response, Greenpeace USA Climate Campaigner Charlie Jiang said:
“It is outrageous that the federal government has exploited a pandemic to throw even more public money at the industry that created and profited from the climate crisis. A bill to end giveaways for the fossil fuel industry — which is saddled with debt and recklessly polluting Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities — is long overdue. It’s time to shift our investments to protect people on the frontlines of the climate crisis and support fossil fuel workers in the transition to a world beyond fossil fuels.”
ENDS
Notes:
Bill summary: https://omar.house.
Full legislative text: https://omar.house.gov/
Contact: Ryan Schleeter, Senior Communications Specialist, Greenpeace USA: +1 (415) 342-2386, ryan.schleeter@
