Senate Democrats Take Action To Lower Gas Costs

While Senate Republicans look out for oil and gas giants that are making record-breaking profits and raising prices on hard-working Americans, Senate Democrats are taking action to lower costs at the gas pump, releasing a new “gas tax suspension to blunt rising prices.” Read more here:

Associated Press: Senators call for gas tax suspension to blunt rising prices

• Democratic senators on Wednesday called for suspending the federal gas tax for the remainder of the year to help consumers struggling with rising fuel prices.

• The legislation from Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire could prove popular during an election year in which the average price of gas nationally, according to AAA, exceeds about $3.45 a gallon and could go higher during peak driving season.

• Kelly said gas prices are putting a strain on families that need to fill up the tank to get to work and school.

• “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.

ABC News: Democrats propose federal gas tax holiday

• Two Senate Democrats… 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.

• “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.

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