Chris Lange, FISM News
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A coalition of six Democratic governors is asking Congress to suspend the federal gas tax to provide relief to American consumers struggling with soaring fuel costs. The governors made the request in a joint letter, filed under the title “Gas Tax Holiday,” that was addressed to Democratic and Republican congressional leaders.
Average U.S. gas prices shot up a staggering 79 cents over the past two weeks to a record-setting $4.43 per gallon. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday the new price exceeds by 32 cents the prior all-time high of $4.11 set in July 2008, according to a Market Beat report.
In their letter addressed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the governors expressed their support for legislation introduced by three Michigan Democrats to suspend the gas tax for the remainder of the year.
“Money saved at the pump translates into dollars back in consumers’ pockets for groceries, childcare, rent, and more,” reads the missive signed by Colorado Governor Jared Polis, Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer, Minnesota’s Tim Walz, New Mexico’s Michelle Lujan Grisham, Pennsylvania’s Tom Wolf, and Wisconsin’s Tony Evers. All but Wolf are seeking reelection this year.
The federal gas tax rate is currently 18.4 cents per gallon, with the average state rate at 30.63 cents/gallon.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Michigan Democratic Reps. Elissa Slotkin and Dan Kildee, would authorize the Treasury to transfer money from the general fund to replace revenue that would be lost through the temporary gas tax suspension, adding that $118 billion allocated to the Highway Trust Fund in the bipartisan infrastructure bill signed by President Biden last year, along with the fund’s “capacity to finance the construction and maintenance of roads, bridges, and highways across the country” would not be negatively impacted by the legislation.
“For these reasons and more, we know it is possible to invest in infrastructure and also provide meaningful relief to consumers at the pump,” the letter continues.
Maryland’s Republican Governor Larry Hogan has also suggested suspending the gas tax to provide relief to consumers.
“[A]t this time of global uncertainty due to Russian aggression, we are working with our legislative partners on an emergency suspension of the gas tax to help with the pain at the pump,” the governor said in a statement on Thursday. “We also support ongoing efforts in the legislature to suspend automatic increases in the gas tax,” he continued, adding that he has “called on the Biden administration to increase domestic energy production to help lower costs.”
“Now more than ever, we must come together to take bold, bipartisan action,” Hogan concluded.
The Biden administration in recent days has begun attributing soaring inflation and gas prices that have outpaced wage increases for over a year to Russia’s war on Ukraine, even going so far as to refer to the record-breaking costs as “Putin’s price hike.”
Today’s inflation report is a reminder that Americans’ budgets are being stretched by price increases and families are starting to feel the impacts of Putin’s price hike. But I am fighting to bring down the everyday prices that are squeezing Americans. https://t.co/PVJqBeTvQS
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 10, 2022
This chart illustrates the impact of Putin’s price hike on Americans. Oil prices have risen since the beginning of this year at the same time as Putin’s military build-up, threats, and then unprovoked further invasion of Ukraine. That’s higher gas prices – up more than 75 cents. https://t.co/HXc7OAFtjj
— Karine Jean-Pierre (@PressSec) March 10, 2022
GOP lawmakers, and a handful of Democrats, have lambasted the rebranding effort as an attempt by the administration to evade blame for the nation’s economic woes while refusing to step up domestic oil production.
Make no mistake – Inflation has increased EVERY month of Biden’s presidency.
— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) March 13, 2022
Democrats:
-Stop oil production in America.
-Buy it from the bad guys in Venezuela and Iran.
Brilliant!
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) March 10, 2022
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) last week called on private- and public-sector entities to work quickly to reduce energy prices to alleviate economic strain being felt by Americans across the country during a Senate Committee meeting on Energy and Natural Resources. The Senator also slammed the Biden administration for stalling domestic oil and gas production.