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Floor Speech

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Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, while we all gather to acknowledge this historic day and prepare to vote to--in my case, at least--confirm Judge Jackson, I rise to bring up another issue. I rise today to urge my colleagues to pass into law commonsense legislation to bring down oil and gas costs for Americans.

As many of my colleagues have discussed on this floor, Americans across the country, including in my State of New Hampshire, are facing higher costs from the grocery store to the gas pump. As we work together to build a stronger, more resilient economy that strengthens our supply chains and invests in American manufacturing, we must also bring relief to American families right now, an issue that has become even more urgent in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has sent gas prices soaring.

As we continue to counter Putin's aggression and inflationary challenges facing our economy, we have an obligation to work together to bring down costs.

That is why I am working to hold Big Oil accountable for profiting off of the pain that Americans are experiencing at the pump. That is why I pushed the administration to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, an action I was glad to see the administration take, again, just last week. As we look at all options to bring down costs, one clear way to provide immediate relief is by suspending the gas tax for the remainder of this year.

Earlier this year, my colleagues and I introduced a bill to do exactly that. The Gas Prices Relief Act will temporarily suspend the Federal gas tax through the end of the year, helping bring economic relief to families.

3609; that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

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Ms. HASSAN. Before I wrap up, I just want to point out what you just heard--what the American people have just heard--is talking points straight out of Big Oil's playbook.

A gas tax holiday is a commonsense solution that would provide immediate relief for Granite Staters and Americans all over the country. Big Oil holds thousands of unused permits at their fingertips that they could use right now to increase supply. Instead, what is happening is Big Oil is padding its pockets at the expense of Americans.

Let's be clear. This would not take a dime out of the highway trust fund because this bill instructs Treasury to replenish the trust fund, something it has done half a dozen times in about the last decade. This is something that has bipartisan support across the country--Democratic and Republican Governors, Democratic and Republican legislators are moving to suspend their gas taxes. This is something we could do right now to help American families balance their budgets and make ends meet.

While I am disappointed to see my colleague block this critical legislation, I will keep working to bring down costs for American families and get this bill passed.

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