Senate Republicans worry about impact of oil collapse

Oklahoma U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe was among Senate Republicans expressing concern over this week’s oil crash.

He and the others also explained they were unsure of what they could do in response.

 Inhofe called the crash “the worst I’ve seen” and expressed fear it would be “an absolute disaster, economically, for our state and the nation.”

Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman John Barrasso told reporters “there’s clearly a role for government to play in all of this,” though he didn’t elaborate.

“This has kind of taken the breath away,” Senate Energy Chairman Lisa Murkowski told reporters. “[Alaska’s] kind of getting hit from all sides with this coronavirus because we’re a state that relies on oil, fish and tourism, and we’re getting hit with all three of them.”

Asked if there was anything Congress could do to help the energy sector, Murkowski said, “I don’t know.”

Source: POLITICO’s Morning Energy Report