WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers introduced a bill on Tuesday providing $3 billion to buy oil to put in the national emergency reserve as a way to help energy companies hit by the plunge in crude prices.
The bill, which would have to be passed in the Senate and House and signed by President Donald Trump, was introduced by Senator John Hoeven, and U.S. Representative Michael Burgess, both Republicans, and U.S. Representatives Lizzie Fletcher, a Democrat. The U.S. Department of Energy last month ditched an original tender to buy 30 million barrels of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve after Congress failed to include funding in a stimulus bill meant to help the economy deal with the spread of the coronavirus.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
