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Has the fossil-fuel industry received more than $10 billion in direct federal pandemic relief?

Friday, December 4, 2020
By Laura Brickman
YES

Three advocacy groups calculate that oil, gas and coal companies have received between $10.4 and $15.2 billion in direct federal coronavirus relief, plus indirect support through various financial measures and regulatory actions. A Nov. 23 report by BailoutWatch, Public Citizen and Friends of the Earth bases its estimates of direct relief on tax benefits and loans from the Paycheck Protection Program and the Main Street Lending Program, all part of the $2 trillion relief package enacted in March.

The indirect support has included harder-to-quantify regulatory measures as well as market interventions from the Federal Reserve. Since March, the Fed has purchased $432 million in oil and gas bonds from investors, spurring $93.5 billion in new borrowing by the industry.

The report estimates direct and indirect benefits to the fossil-fuel industry total between $105 billion and $110 billion.

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