Gas prices are off the charts, and lawmakers are looking at creative ways to help ease the burden on Americans. I’m glad my car has good gas mileage. I can’t imagine what it’s like to drive a huge truck right now, with the cost of gas, or even some of my “dream cars,” which are gas-guzzling sports cars.
Now, a group of Congressional Democrats is proposing a new form of stimulus payments to assist Americans trying to pay rising gas prices.
Reps. Mike Thompson, D-California, John Larson, D-Connecticut, and Lauren Underwood, D-Illinois, have introduced the act, called the Gas Rebate Act of 2022. The idea would be to send Americans an “energy rebate” or $100 per month, as well as an added $100 per dependent for the rest of 2022 in any month where the national average gas price is higher than $4 a gallon.
“Americans are feeling the impact at the pump of Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, and right now we must work together on commonsense policy solutions to ease the financial burden that my constituents are feeling,” Thompson said in a statement. “The Putin Price Hike is putting strain on our economy, and I am proud to be working with Reps. Larson and Underwood to introduce this legislation to provide middle-class Americans with monthly payments to ease the financial burden of this global crises.”
The rebate would follow the same guidelines as the most recent Economic Impact Payment, meaning that $100 would go to single filers earning less than $75,000 phasing out at $80,000, and $100 would go to joint filers earning less than $150,000 and phasing out at $160,000. Right now, AAA reports that the national average price for a gallon of gas in the U.S. is $4.24. The proposal is just one of many ideas lawmakers are circulating to help ease the pain of high gas prices.