It's A Gas, Gas Gas, Con't

Senate Dems want to suspend the federal gasoline tax for the rest of 2022 in order to lower prices at the pump expected to top $4 a gallon this summer.

 

Two Senate Democrats up for reelection proposed a bill on Wednesday to temporarily suspend the federal gas tax through the end of 2022, as millions of Americans grapple with the economic impacts of surging oil prices.

The Gas Prices Relief Act from Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., would suspend the $18.4 cents per gallon federal gas tax through Jan. 1, 2023, according to a summary of the proposal shared with ABC News.

The senators, who are both on the ballot in November, released the proposal at a time when gas is roughly $3.45 a gallon nationwide, about $1 more expensive than a year ago, according to AAA.

"Arizonans are paying some of the highest prices for gas we have seen in years and it's putting a strain on families who need to fill up the tank to get to work and school," Kelly said in a statement. "This bill will lower gas prices by suspending the federal gas tax through the end of the year to help Arizona families struggling with high costs for everything from gas to groceries."

"We need to continue to think creatively about how we can find new ways to bring down costs, and this bill would do exactly that, making a tangible difference for workers and families," Hassan said in a statement.

At least four other Democrats, Sens. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, and Raphael Warnock of Georgia have already signed on as co-sponsors of the measure. (Cortez Masto and Warnock, like Hassan and Kelly, are up for reelection in the fall.)

With inflation at a nearly 40-year high and Americans frustrated about the rising cost of many staples, Republicans have seized on the issue of gas prices as they try to retake the House and Senate in the midterms, pointing to the Biden administration's economic agenda.

According to Gallup, just 33% of Americans are satisfied with the state of the economy -- a 10-point drop from 2021 -- and just 27% are satisfied with the nation's energy policies.

Around the country, Democratic and Republican governors have proposed their own changes to state gas taxes ahead of the summer -- by either freezing state gas tax collection or stopping planned increases from taking effect.

 

This is such a slam dunk that you have to wonder why it wasn't done earlier, and the answer is "Because it's paying for the infrastructure bill."  The other reason is that Mitch McConnell will want his pound of flesh for allowing this to pass a filibuster, and we don't know what that is yet.

This will probably pass, especially since Republican will be more than happy to attack Democrats for not permanently repealing the gas tax later this year.