OPIS Energy’s head of global analysis, Tom Kloza, argues that he expects gas prices to stay high if summer hurricanes threaten oil refineries.
As pressure increases for the Biden administration to take action against record gas prices, both Democratic governors and candidates running in states across the country seek to alleviate the pain in the bomb by implementing or promoting of plans that would reduce the economic burdens facing Americans. with rising energy costs.
Earlier this week, as AAA data showed the average price per gallon of gasoline at just under $ 5, President Biden called on Congress to suspend the federal gas tax until September. There is currently a federal tax of 18.4 cents a gallon on gas and a federal tax of 24.4 cents a gallon on diesel.
Georgia Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams (L), Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (M), New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (R) Nathan Posner / Anadolu Agency, Jon Cherry / Getty Images for Concordia, Spencer Platt / Getty Images)
Aligned with Biden’s request to Congress, on which many have expressed skepticism, other Democrats have spoken out and supported plans to help Americans combat rising gas prices ahead of several midterm elections. term controversies taking place later this year.
Earlier this month, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the suspension of some gasoline taxes in the Empire State, which began a statewide tax holiday.
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According to the plan, which the Hochul office said would result in a reduction of at least $ 0.16 per gallon across the state, the excise tax on motor fuel was suspended. state on sales and sales tax of the metropolitan district of suburban transportation on motor fuel and diesel. the end of the year. The changes began to take effect in the state on June 1st.
“Fuel prices have risen in recent months, hurting working families and small businesses more, and it is crucial that we provide assistance to New Yorkers,” Hochul said in a statement. “By suspending certain fuel taxes for the next seven months, New York provides about $ 609 million in direct relief to New Yorkers, a critical lifeline for those who need it most.”
Similarly, long before Hochul’s announcement, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed emergency legislation to suspend his state’s $ 0.25 gasoline tax in March. The decision to suspend the gasoline tax in the state came into force on April 1 and was scheduled to last until June 30, but was extended in late April until June 1. December at a cost of $ 150 million after Lamont and the Democratic majorities. in the State Chamber and in the Senate they agreed on a budget agreement.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont speaks from his Hartford office. (Brad Horrigan / Hartford Courant / Tribune News Service via Getty Images / Getty Images)
In signing the measure, Lamont promoted the decision as “correct” and later suggested that the state budget agreement, valued at $ 24 billion, “will be responsible for caring for the most needy people.” .
Lamont has also aired a television ad that promotes certain tax cuts in the state, emphasizing the one related to gasoline.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has also tried to make a difference in the amount Americans pay at the bomb in Bluegrass state, freezing the state gas tax, which was initially to increase from $ 0.26 to $ 0.28 in July.
Like his Connecticut counterpart, Beshear also said the freeze, which is estimated to save $ 35 million for Kentucky families and will be in effect at least until January, was “right,” and he told residents of the U.S. ‘state that, although “it is mainly out of our control as a state to reduce gas prices, this is a step we can and must take to prevent it from continuing to rise.”
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Gasoline prices are shown from a bomb at a Sheetz store in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, on March 7, 2022. (AP Photo / Gene J. Puskar) (AP Photo / Gene J. Puskar / AP Newsroom)
While White House solutions remain stagnant, candidates for Congress and the government, including some of Biden’s most vocal members of the party, also make it clear that swift action is needed.
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In Florida, Nikki Fried, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, attacked Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in March and accused him of making “wait until October” Sunshine State residents before taking steps to reduce the costs of the Sunshine State. gasoline. “While other states have already suspended their gas taxes, DeSantis makes us wait until October,” Fried wrote in a tweet. “If I were governor, the gasoline tax cut would be in place, and I would work to offer a gas discount. Floridians are suffering from the bomb today and deserve relief now.”
Nikki Fried, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Democratic candidate for governor of Florida in 2022 (Drew Angerer / Getty Images / Getty Images)
Last month, DeSantis signed a package that included a series of tax vacations. As part of the package, the state gas sales tax is scheduled to be suspended in October.
In similar statements shared earlier this year, Charlie Christ, the former Republican governor of Florida who now seeks to lead the state as a Democrat, also criticized DeSantis, who claimed he “did nothing” to reduce costs. of gasoline. “Florida’s average gasoline prices hit a seven-year high in 2021, and while we called for a state gasoline tax freeze, @GovRonDeSantis did nothing to make working Floridans compressed into the bomb, ”Christ wrote in a January tweet.
In an attempt to provide immediate relief to Ohio families, Nan Whaley, Buckeye’s Democratic nominee for governor who will face current Republican Gov. Mike DeWine in November, suggested this month that the governor use funds from the U.S. Rescue Plan to issue $ 350 single checks to residents in the state.
“This is not rocket science … We need common sense solutions to help people struggling with rising costs,” Whaley said. “That payment would go to the same people who received the federal stimulus checks last year. That’s about 7.4 million Ohioans, or 89% of Ohio families.”
Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s attorney general and Democratic candidate for governor of the state in 2022, has also focused heavily on reducing taxes, including those related to gasoline.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro speaks at a press conference on April 13, 2021. (Ben Hasty / MediaNews Group / Reading Eagle via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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Under a largely boosted plan in the campaign over the past few months, Shapiro demanded a $ 250 gasoline tax refund for up to four passenger vehicles. “As governor, I will cut your taxes and send you a check for $ 250 for every passenger car you have, up to four cars,” Shapiro wrote in a May tweet.
Democrats aren’t the only ones taking steps to ease costs. In March, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a law to suspend Georgia’s fuel tax until the end of May. He later proposed extending the suspension until mid-July, but Stacey Abrams, his Democratic rival in the November general election, said it was not enough. Abrams, according to an Axios report, said Kemp is using the state gas tax “as political football” and insisted that “he should suspend the state gas tax by the end of the year.” .