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April 22, 2020

President Trump Pledges Fossil Fuel Bailout as Oil Prices Fall Below Zero
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President Trump promised Tuesday to bail out U.S. fossil fuel producers,
after an unprecedented collapse in oil markets pushed benchmark crude
prices into negative territory, meaning some traders were paying
customers to offload oil. On Tuesday, Trump tweeted, "We will never let
the great U.S. Oil & Gas Industry down. I have instructed the Secretary
of Energy and Secretary of the Treasury to formulate a plan which will
make funds available so that these very important companies and jobs
will be secured long into the future!"

In response, journalist and activist Naomi Klein wrote, "Democrats need
to counter with a sweeping plan to cover the full salaries of fossil
fuel workers while they retrain for the clean economy. Time to wind down
this abusive industry that has always relied on massive public
subsidies."


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