NY17's Schleifer Calls To Reverse Oil Company Bail Out Pledge

Schleifer: “Trump Cannot Bail Out Big Oil When Our States Are Running on Fumes”

White Plains, NY – The day after the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, Adam P. Schleifer, Democratic candidate for Congress in New York's 17th District, today called on the Trump Administration pledge not to use taxpayer dollars to bail out the fossil fuel industry during the economic devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, Schleifer takes issue with Trump’s promise that he will prioritize bailout funding for the oil and gas industry, a pledge that Trump reaffirmed in a tweet on Tuesday, particularly as states are struggling with massive deficits related to COVID. Schleifer emphasized that New York State faces over $10 billion in budget shortfall.

“Trump must reverse his pledge to bail out oil and gas companies while the COVID-19 pandemic has every sector of our economy running on fumes,” Schleifer said. “State and local governments have to be the priority for the next round of COVID relief funding, not fossil fuels that entrench us in an economy of the past and destroy our planet.”

Schleifer noted that the COVID-19 virus has not slowed down the Trump administration’s multiple attempts to save the antiquated and environmentally devastating fossil fuel industry. Meanwhile, New York State is facing between $10 billion to $15 billion in budget shortfall. Schleifer called on the Trump Administration to make good on his commitment to provide relief for states like New York to pay teachers, police officers, healthcare workers, and other essential civil servants. Trump has already gutted fuel economy standards, which, according to the EPA’s own numbers, will increase pollution and eliminate 13,500 jobs a year. Trump’s EPA has slashed the enforcement of pollution regulations and moved forward with its “secret science” rule, which will make it more difficult to understand and address the health impacts of air pollution — and more difficult to study the coronavirus.

Schleifer pointed out that, as the world has gone into lockdown during COVID-19, state economies are in free fall. Schleifer emphasized that nearly every sector in New York State is losing jobs. And almost every sector will be shaped, for years to come, by the speed, amount, and nature of public assistance it receives. There is a finite amount of time, resources, and political will available to get economies going again; not every sector will get what it wants or needs. In short, the decisions legislators make in response to the coronavirus crisis will have an enormous influence on what kind of economies emerge on the other side.

Schleifer yesterday released his sweeping environmental plan to increase green jobs and infrastructure and fight climate change, and pledged to refuse all big dollar donations from the fossil fuel industry. On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, Schleifer proposed his proposal to push for tax incentives to help provide green jobs and infrastructure, protect clean air and water with a restored and robust EPA, and will support his own legacy of federal prosecution of polluters. Schleifer will fight for a progressive carbon tax, incentives for green jobs and technology, and a national Green Infrastructure Corps as part of a National Service Plan that gives those who serve free higher education.

About Adam Schleifer:

Adam Schleifer, 38, graduated from Chappaqua’s public schools in 1999 and went on to attend Cornell University and Columbia University Law School, where he served as a Senior & Staff Development Editor on the Columbia Law Review. After graduating from law school, Schleifer served two years as a federal law clerk, first in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and then in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Schleifer then built a career at one of the nation’s leading law firms before reentering public service, first as a New York State consumer-protection regulator, and then as an Assistant United States Attorney. Schleifer has prosecuted regulatory and federal-criminal actions against predatory payday and subprime auto lenders; taken dangerous and illegal weapons out of communities; prosecuted crimes of sexual violence and predation; and protected our clean air by prosecuting a conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act. Adam Schleifer and his wife, Nicole, are residents of New Castle. Read more about Adam Schleifer at www.AdamSchleifer.com.

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