The Biden administration’s proposal for a three month federal gas-tax holiday is getting chilly reaction from both sides of the political aisle.
Doing so, would mean the 18 cents per gallon that consumers pay at the pump for gasoline and the 24 cents per gallon for diesel, would be suspended in an attempt to give Americans some relief at the pump. However, those funds go into the Highway Trust Fund, but the administration has said any suspension of the tax wouldn’t negatively impact it since the deficit is at a low point.
Both Kansas Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall were critical of the decision Wednesday. In a statement, Sen. Moran called it a “trivial attempt to address a serious issue hurting Kansas families.” Moran instead pointed to key policy decisions by President Biden which he says sought to undermine American fossil fuel production, creating significant difficulty and uncertainty for domestic producers, leading to the historic spike in gas prices.
A federal gas tax holiday is a trivial attempt to address a serious issue that is hurting American families. President Biden needs to take concrete action to unleash American energy production in order to sustainably reduce prices at the gas pump.
— Senator Jerry Moran (@JerryMoran) June 22, 2022
Sen. Marshall took it a step further, calling the gas-tax holiday a “farce,” and noting that even former President Barack Obama called such a proposal a “gimmick” in 2008. Marshall says Biden needs to abandon his energy strategy and pass legislation Marshall sponsored earlier this year called the Gas Prices Relief Act, which would prohibit any new regulations that decreases U.S. energy production or increases gasoline prices.
Here’s Joe Biden threatening mom and pop gas station owners instead of taking responsibility for his radical agenda. What happened to “the buck stops with me?” It is well past time President Biden stops with the political theater and abandons his failing energy policies. https://t.co/AgF3xmgWdr
— Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) June 22, 2022
3rd District State Rep. Sharice Davids, the lone Democrat in Kansas’ Congressional delegation says she would’ve preferred the President take this step sooner. She urged her colleagues to support her legislation to suspend the federal gas tax through the end of the year.