Senate Republicans are divided over strategies to lower gas prices before the November midterms, with high costs threatening their electoral prospects. Proposals like suspending the federal gas tax and banning diesel exports have faced resistance from fiscal hawks and oil-producing states. As of Thursday, the national average for a gallon of gasoline stood at $4.36, up significantly since February due to ongoing conflicts affecting global shipping routes.
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Senate Republicans remain deadlocked over how exactly to lower gas prices ahead of the fast-approaching November midterms.
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Republicans → log → midterms
In recent months, GOP senators have floated several proposals, including suspending the federal gas tax and temporarily banning diesel exports.
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senators → float → exports
But regional rivalries, fiscal disputes and doubts that legislation can meaningfully ease pressure at the pump have stalled those efforts, The Hill reported.
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Hill → ease → efforts
“You’re talking about regional politics, and it gets bogged down in the politics of energy, and the fiefdoms around it,” Ron Bonjean, a GOP strategist, told the outlet.
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Bonjean → talk → outlet
Gas prices remain high as the Iran war rolls on and continues to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
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war → remain → Hormuz
On Thursday, the national average price for a gallon of gasoline stood at $4.36, up from $2.98 two days before the war began in February, according to AAA.
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war → stand → AAA
Many Americans view high gas prices as a major problem, and a majority pin the blame on President Donald Trump, polls show.
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polls → view → Trump
While Trump has described elevated fuel costs as a “small price to pay” for neutralizing Iran, some Republicans have raised concerns of a midterm backlash.
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Republicans → describe → backlash
One proposal to lower fuel costs was a 90-day ban on diesel exports, which Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley put forward last month.
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Grassley → lower → which
“With diesel at $6, the best thing Trump could do is follow what a Republican president did in the ’70s and a Democrat president did in the ’70s,” Grassley said.
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Grassley → do → 70s
Trump, he said, “should put an embargo on diesel leaving the country.”
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diesel → say → country
Trump expressed interest but Republican senators from oil-producing states pushed back.
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senators → express → states
“One thing we know for sure is that export bans don’t have a negative price impact, particularly with a commodity like that that’s globally traded and globally priced,” North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer said.
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Cramer → know → that
Texas Senator John Cornyn described the proposal as a “gimmick.”
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Cornyn → describe → gimmick
A separate effort to suspend the federal gas tax also ran into Republican resistance.
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effort → suspend → resistance
Missouri Senator Josh Hawley introduced legislation in May after Trump endorsed a temporary pause.
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Trump → introduce → pause
“President Trump has proposed to suspend the federal gas tax and he’s exactly right,” Hawley said at the time.
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Hawley → propose → time
“American workers and families deserve immediate relief and this legislation will do just that.
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legislation → deserve → that
But fiscal hawks, including Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, raised concerns about the loss of revenue used to fund roads.
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hawks → include → roads
“I hate taxes, I wish that there weren’t a gas tax but I also like driving on the road.
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I → hate → road
It’s a huge amount of money that just quits coming in,” Paul said in May when asked about suspending the tax.
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Paul → ’ → tax
Another proposal that has yet to materialize would reduce restrictions on E15 gasoline, a blend containing 15 percent ethanol.
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that → have → ethanol
“It would bring it down right now, some people think, as much as 30 cents a gallon — do voluntary E15 nationwide.
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people → bring → E15
It’s there now.
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It → ’ → ?
It’s an American product,” South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds told The Hill.
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Rounds → ’ → Hill
Rounds also called for ramping up American refining capacity.
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Rounds → call → capacity
That proposal, too, drew opposition from senators representing oil-rich states, who argued that promoting E15 would make small refiners worse off.
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refiners → draw → E15
But, even if GOP senators were to reach a consensus, it’s unlikely that legislation alone could quickly and meaningfully bring down the price at the pump, according to strategists and oil industry executives.
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legislation → reach → strategists
Reopening the Strait of Hormuz, they have said, is the best option.
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they → reopen → Hormuz
“The truth of the matter is there’s no replacement for the strait,” American Petroleum Institute CEO Mike Sommers said in March.
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Sommers → ’ → March
“That is the critical piece that has to be done and done quickly.”
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that → have → ?
The Aporia
