Fox Cities News

As the contradictions of climate politics increasingly flood the country and gas prices continue to climb, Democratic senators rush to support the recent buzz about a possible federal gas tax suspension.

Many Americans find this support ironic since most supporters are up for re-election this fall. These senators also support President Joe Biden's Build Back Better Act, which imposes more taxes on U.S. oil and gas.

In early February, Senators Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) proposed legislation to waive the federal gas tax, which sits at 18.4 cents per gallon, through 2022. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) stated that this time frame is long enough to get them past the pressure-filled re-elections in November.

Sarah Godlewski, Wisconsin state treasurer and candidate for the U.S. Senate, supports the federal gas tax suspension. She recently said to WisPolitics, “Wisconsin families are feeling the effects of inflation everywhere." She added that “Congress must take action to lower costs for workers and families, starting with suspending the gas tax."

According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), average prices in Wisconsin are up to $3.28 per gallon of regular gas. Diesel costs an average of $3.73 per gallon.

Democrats, including New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney, are reluctant to place blame on President Biden for the spike in pump prices. Maloney recently said, "Rising gas prices are a global issue caused by the behavior of Russia and other factors," according to the WSJ.

The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board claimed another irony is that "Senate Democrats who want to suspend the gas tax support President Biden’s Build Back Better Act, that would impose myriad new taxes on U.S. oil and gas."

As the country's political environment becomes increasingly hostile, Saudi Arabia has become the world's swing producer of oil. The WSJ pointed out that pre-pandemic, the U.S. held that title. Now, "U.S. producers have cut investment" in oil, causing the spike in pump prices.

The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board said that Biden is largely to blame. As reported, "the Biden administration has slow-rolled oil and gas permits, halted lease sales on federal land, [and] suspended leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge." Additionally, "while activist progressive investors abet the industry’s strangulation," they have "pushed financial regulation to deny capital to fossil fuels."

In January 2022, a federal Obama-appointed judge blocked the sale of oil and gas drilling leases across an 80-million-acre stretch in the Gulf of Mexico.