API CEO spews double-talk on polluter bailout

WASHINGTON, DC. – Mike Sommers, the CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, denied in a webinar today that the oil and gas industry was seeking a bailout as part of coronavirus response, claiming “This industry is not interested in an industry specific bailout.”

Sommers also touted the 45Q tax subsidy for enhanced oil recovery as a climate solution, even though the IRS Inspector General recently found that nearly $1 billion in credits had been fraudulently claimed as part of the program.

Friends of the Earth program manager Lukas Ross Emitió la siguiente declaración en respuesta:

Oil lobbyists are spewing blatant lies, and we have the receipts. Big Oil has already nabbed $1.9 billion in giveaways thanks to corporate tax cuts from the last stimulus. Polluters also haven’t been shy about demanding even laxer standards for stimulus lending—and the Trump administration has so far granted their wishes.

If polluters want to deny the existence of the ongoing bailout, Congress should swiftly repeal these blatant corporate tax giveaways and make fossil fuels ineligible for stimulus lending programs. In the meantime, members of the press should double-check these lies before giving these vapid talking points any more oxygen.

Contacto experto: Lukas Ross, (202) 222-0724, [email protected]
Contacto de comunicaciones: Aisha Dukule, (202) 893-3502, [email protected]