Davids Statement on President Biden Preparing to Call for Federal Gas Tax Holiday

Statement

As President Biden prepares to announce today that he is calling on Congress to instate a federal gas tax holiday--as Representative Sharice Davids first proposed in February--she released the following statement:

"We are clearly in extraordinary circumstances, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the lingering impacts of the pandemic continue to drive prices up at the pump. My preference would have been to see the President take this step sooner, because for months I have been hearing from Kansans who are feeling the squeeze from those extraordinary factors and need this relief. I urge my colleagues to support my legislation to suspend the federal gas tax through the end of the year and promise to continue working to lower everyday costs for Kansans."

Background

In addition to pushing this immediate action, Davids has repeatedly urged the President and Congressional leadership to move forward on long-term energy and inflation solutions, including fixing our supply chains, making more goods in America, and investing in our clean energy economy. Here are her recent actions to lower gas prices:

She called on President Biden to help reopen recently closed oil refineries, increasing the supply of gas without sacrificing long-term climate goals.
This month, she successfully pushed the IRS to increase a tax break for small business owners and self-employed folks who rely on a vehicle for their business. Watch on KMBC.
She voted to crack down on price gouging by oil and gas companies, who have made record profits this year, despite rising gas prices.
She introduced legislation to suspend the federal gas tax through the end of the year, saving Kansans 18 cents per gallon at a time when gas prices are reaching new highs. Watch her video on the bill, which includes guardrails to make sure savings are passed on to consumers.
After voting for bipartisan sanctions against Russian oil, she called on President Biden to take immediate action to protect American consumers from uncertainty and rising prices, including by temporarily suspending the federal gas tax.
Following Davids' calls to take action on rising gas prices last fall, President Biden released 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. He has now authorized the largest release in history: 1 million barrels a day for six months.
Davids remains committed to long-term energy and inflation solutions, releasing an inflation action plan last week with the New Democrat Coalition that's been called Congress's "best inflation plan yet."

For more information on Davids' work to lower costs and reduce inflation, and for resources to find lower prices on gas, groceries, housing and more, visit davids.house.gov/lowercosts.

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