Renacci Hits DeWine For Protecting His Gas Tax: ‘How Much Higher Does Gas Need To Go For Mike To Care?’

"Why is DeWine giving $2 BILLION in taxpayer dollars to Intel, but refusing to grant Ohio workers even a temporary relief from his gas tax that he raised?"

Gas prices have surged 50 cents in Ohio in just the past week, and prices are fast approaching an eye-popping $4 a gallon. "I'm just trying to find the lowest prices I can. It's ridiculous," one Ohioan said. "The gas hurts because it's literally doubled within the last year," said another.

There's an immediate and obvious solution to provide relief for Ohioans: a temporary suspension of Ohio's already-burdensome gas tax to help Ohioans weather Biden's energy crisis. But Mike DeWine refuses to do it and has threatened to veto any bill that tries.

After all, the gas tax is one of DeWine's signature achievements. Remember: DeWine raised the tax by 10.5 cents in 2019, but his initial proposal called for raising the tax by 18 cents, a massive $1.2 billion tax hike on Ohio drivers. Ohio's state gas tax of 38.5 cents is one of the top ten highest gas taxes in the country as of January 2022, ranked close to blue states like New Jersey, California, and Illinois. 

Jim Renacci released the following statement: 

"Why is DeWine giving $2 BILLION in taxpayer dollars to Intel, but refusing to grant Ohio workers even a temporary relief from his gas tax that he raised? Lots of hard-working Ohio families need help right now. It's absurd that DeWine expects Ohio drivers to keep paying blue state-level taxes at the pump while gas prices are rapidly skyrocketing across Ohio. DeWine might talk a tough game about Biden's energy crisis, but he isn't willing to actually do anything to help. Maybe DeWine has been a career politician for too long to know how much of a relief this would be for working families, but I fully support a temporary suspension of the gas tax to help Ohioans weather Biden's energy disaster. How much higher does gas need to go for Mike to care?"