{"id":318377,"date":"2026-05-16T04:19:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T04:19:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/318377\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T04:19:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T04:19:09","slug":"nationwide-gas-tax-cap-pushed-by-california-congressman-least-we-can-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/318377\/","title":{"rendered":"Nationwide gas-tax cap pushed by California congressman: \u2018Least we can do\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

(NewsNation<\/a>) \u2014 A California congressman facing an updhill reelection bid is pushing a nationwide cap on state gasoline taxes<\/a> while conceding the real driver of fuel prices is the U.S. war in Iran.<\/p>\n

Rep. Kevin Kiley\u2019s \u201cGas Tax Reduction Act,\u201d<\/a> introduced last month, would withhold federal funds from states that impose a gasoline tax of more than 50 cents a gallon. The average state gas tax across the U.S. is 33 cents a gallon<\/a>, with California charging the most \u2014 61 cents a gallon \u2014 of any state.<\/p>\n

Kiley, previously a Republican who has switched his party affiliation to independent, told \u201cElizabeth Vargas Reports\u201d<\/a> on Friday that gasoline prices won\u2019t fall until after the Trump administration wraps up the conflict in Iran so that the Strait of Hormuz can reopen.<\/p>\n

Do gas tax holidays actually bring relief at the pump? <\/a><\/p>\n

But he added: \u201cThe least we can do is try to provide a little relief using the most immediate lever we have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kiley has called for his home state to suspend its gasoline tax, but Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom<\/a> has rejected the idea of a so-called gasoline tax holiday that other states have approved. California currently has the highest average gasoline price in the nation \u2014 $6.14 a gallon, according to AAA.<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not only state governments that impose a gasoline tax, usually to fund road improvements and infrastructure. The federal government levies its own 18.4 cents<\/a>-a-gallon tax on gasoline. President Trump recently expressed support for lifting the tax, but he would need congressional approval.<\/p>\n

Kiley, who is from the Sacramento area, is running for reelection<\/a> under a new congressional map drawn by Democrats. His switch to independent is widely seen as a bid to improve his chances. His gas-tax bill is in committee.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(NewsNation) \u2014 A California congressman facing an updhill reelection bid is pushing a nationwide cap on state gasoline…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":318378,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,61288,103623,45778,133001,133002],"class_list":["post-318377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-elizabeth-vargas","tag-fuel-prices","tag-gasoline-price","tag-gasoline-taxes","tag-state-gas-tax"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=318377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318377\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/318378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=318377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=318377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=318377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}