Keystone Today

Gov. Tom Wolf praised President Joe Biden’s call for banning Russian oil, liquified natural gas and coal from being imported to the United States, but also acknowledged the astronomic rise in gas prices, asking Congress to pass legislation to suspend the federal gas tax for the rest of the year.

According to a March 8 release, the Gas Prices Relief Act will alleviate the consumer cost of the rising gas prices while also protecting the federal government’s ability to invest in infrastructure. He was joined by four other governors in asking for the legislation to be passed including Govs. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Jared Polis of Colorado, Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico and Tony Evers of Wisconsin. They sent a letter to the U.S. Senate and House on Monday.

“Like most Americans, Pennsylvanians are grappling with rising gas prices as they navigate paying for other household needs, from their rent or mortgage to groceries and other necessities,” Wolf said. “A federal gas tax holiday would ease some of that pain on Pennsylvanians’ wallets without impacting important infrastructure projects that are funded through the federal Highway Trust Fund.” 

The letter stated that this will help Americans save money at the pump, adding that this helps consumers with other costs like groceries, childcare and rent. He also said the bill authorizes the U.S. Department of Treasury to transfer general fund money to replace the temporarily lost revenue from the gasoline excise task being temporarily stopped.

“Furthermore, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) dedicated an additional $118 billion to the Highway Trust Fund, and the Trust Fund’s capacity to finance the construction and maintenance of roads, bridges, and highways across the country would not be diminished by the legislation,” the letter said. “For these reasons and more, we know it is possible to invest in infrastructure and also provide meaningful relief to consumers at the pump.”

While he is taking measures to help the residents of Pittsburgh deal with the inevitable rise in prices as gas has hit a national average of $4.17, Wolf praised the efforts of the Biden Administration taking the lead in stopping the imports from Russia.

“This horrific act of aggression on the peaceful, independent country of Ukraine and its people demands a global response, and I’m proud that we are doing our part as a commonwealth and as a nation. Pennsylvania stands with Ukraine and we are taking steps to ensure we support them and divest from Russia,” Wolf said. “I’m pleased the president shares my commitment to sever ties with Russia. Banning the import of Russian oil, liquified natural gas and coal inflicts real economic consequences on Russia and sends a powerful message that we will not do business with them.”

This is not the first time Wolf has taken a stand against Russia during the invasion of Ukraine. With Pennsylvania being one of the nation’s largest liquor purchasers, he called upon stopping the sale of Russian liquor in state stores. He also called on the Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System and Public School Employees’ Retirement System to divest from Russia.

"The governor supports clean legislation to add Russia to the list of countries that we divest all public funds from under law,” the release said.