President Joe Biden is calling for a three-month suspension of the federal gas tax less than a week after Virginia Senate Democrats and one Republican killed Governor Glenn Youngkin’s efforts to enact a suspension of Virginia’s fuel tax. Virginia Republicans took to social media on Wednesday to react to Biden’s proposal.
“Now, the White House is calling on states to move forward on gas tax suspensions – demonstrating that VA Senate Dems are out of step with everyday people and their own party,” Youngkin tweeted. “Gas prices are not sustainable for families in Virginia, and it is astonishing that Senate Democrats blocked my gas relief proposal three times and squandered the opportunity to do the right thing. Virginians deserved a better answer than ‘no.'”
Biden’s proposal isn’t a done deal. Some federal Democrats have similar concerns Virginia Democrats had. They said the gas tax pays for highway maintenance and is a fairly small part of many people’s budgets, and worried that lowering the gas tax won’t change the supply problem that’s causing the prices to increase but would just enrich petroleum corporations.
Some federal Republicans aren’t on board either.
“President Biden said he was going to shut down American energy, and he is following through on that promise,” Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) tweeted Wednesday. “It’s time for him to stop his gimmicks and start drilling domestically.”
In Biden’s written remarks Wednesday, he highlighted states that had enacted a gas tax suspension.
“In Connecticut and New York, the governors have temporarily suspended their gas tax as well. In Illinois and Colorado, governors delayed theirs to give families a bit more breathing room as well. In Minnesota, Governor Walz proposes using state budget surpluses to give households a rebate that will help them pay for gas at the pump or other essential needs,” he said. “I’m calling on more states and local governments to take actions like these.”
Delegate Glenn Davis (R-Virginia Beach) said in a Wednesday video, “In news you just can’t make up, Joe Biden is now supporting Glenn Youngkin’s policies. Yep, you heard that right.”
“Well, the Senate Democrats didn’t go along with it. But I’ll tell you: it says a lot when a Democratic president of the United States sees Glenn Youngkin having good ideas and wants to emulate him.”
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Eric Burk is a reporter at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
