The Trump administration is “strongly considering” pushing a bailout package for US oil and natural-gas companies, as plummeting fuel prices and the coronavirus outbreak hammer the industry, according to the Washington Post.
The details: The aid would likely take the form of low-interest government loans to shale drillers, the newspaper reported. That would throw a lifeline to a heavily indebted industry with increasingly limited access to private capital. Analysts say this week’s historic plunge in oil prices, if sustained, could force major US players into a battle for survival.
Criticisms: The proposal was quickly criticized by climate and energy observers. They argue that federal aid for the energy sector should go toward clean technologies that could help combat climate risks, rather than propping up fossil-fuel companies.
Questionable priorities: The administration has moved rapidly to aid businesses despite a lackadaisical response to the spread of the virus itself. After early warnings from the devastating outbreak in China, the federal government largely failed to prepare for the coming crisis, health experts say. Among other issues, the US is way behind other nations in testing.
—James Temple
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