State leaders are taking action to bring down costs at the pump as gas prices soar nationwide, reports Fox News.
California Democrats want to send every taxpayer in the state a $400 rebate. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, both Republicans, last week signed legislation to suspend state taxes on gas.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, has called for lawmakers in his state to follow suit. In Florida, lawmakers passed a one-month suspension of the state's gas tax, scheduled for October. Democratic governors in Michigan, New Mexico, Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania have backed a congressional effort to suspend the 18.4-cent federal gas tax until 2023.
Gas prices reached an all-time national average high of $4.33 last Monday, according to AAA, and hit $5 per gallon in California, Nevada, and Hawaii.
The average price for a regular gallon of gas is $4.25, 72 cents more than a month ago, and $1.37 higher than this time last year.
California leads the nation at nearly $5.85 per gallon.
The national average could hit $5-$6 per gallon all summer, Scott Shelton, an energy specialist at commodity investment broker ICAP, told Fortune, "with diesel prices even higher."
The U.S. has released 60 million barrels of oil from its strategic reserves and President Joe Biden has encouraged U.S. companies to increase drilling and production.
The White House has also worked to improve relations with Venezuela, which has been banned from selling oil to the U.S. since 2018.
Kemp and Youngkin blame the Biden administration for the price surge.
"Though we can't fix everything Washington has broken, we're doing our part to lessen the impact on Georgians' wallets," he said in a statement.
"These rising gas prices are hurting Virginians, and we need to do something about it," Youngkin said in a statement.
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