⁍ U.S. lawmakers authorized the Paycheck Protection Program to help businesses cope with loss of revenues as the coronavirus pandemic worsened.

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⁍ At least a dozen publicly traded energy companies received about $50 million combined in PPP loans.

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– If you’re an energy company trying to raise cash in the wake of a financial crisis, you might want to take a look at the federal government’s program for helping struggling companies. At least a dozen publicly traded energy companies took $50 million in taxpayer-funded loans under the Paycheck Protection Program in the spring as they struggled with the H1N1 virus, Reuters reports. Some restructured credit lines or cashed in crude oil hedges, while others tapped US credit markets. “These mom-and-pops don’t have lobbyists in Washington or Wall Street to make sure they get the loan,” says an independent watchdog. The Obama administration set up the program in the wake of the financial crisis to help small businesses that had been hurt by the H1N1 virus.