As Republicans continue battling for their U.S. Senate nomination, Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico is rolling out his own campaign promises targeted at lowering costs while taking aim at the Trump administration\u2019s war in Iran.<\/p>\n
At a gas station in Austin Tuesday, Talarico unveiled a proposal to lower fuel costs by suspending the federal gas and diesel tax until average prices drop to where they were before the U.S.-Israel war in Iran. Last week, in front of a private jet hangar in Houston, he announced a plan to \u201cclose billionaire loopholes\u201d by auditing the ultra wealthy, restricting offshore bank accounts and barring business owners from writing off luxury purchases like private jets and yachts \u2014 measures he argues would generate billions in additional annual revenue that could be used to cut taxes for middle class Americans.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the last election, Americans were promised lower prices,\u201d Talarico, an Austin state representative, said Tuesday<\/a>. \u201cAnd in the year since that election, everything has gotten more expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n As fuel prices soar amid the ongoing war in Iran, Talarico on Tuesday called for lifting the federal gas and diesel tax until prices return to where they were before the conflict began in February, citing estimates that higher gas prices driven by the war could cost average households $740 more<\/a> this year. Suspending the tax, his campaign said, would save drivers $200 each a year and long haul truckers $4,000 each a year while also reducing costs for shipping and farms.<\/p>\n \u201cAmericans in the last election voted for two things: To end the forever wars and to make life more affordable,\u201d Talarico said. \u201cBut the people in power have done the exact opposite. Texans need relief. Americans need relief.\u201d<\/p>\n The federal motor fuel tax is set at 18.4 cents per gallon of gas and 24.4 cents per gallon of diesel, and primarily funds federal highway and mass transit programs. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan budget watchdog, estimated that<\/a> a monthlong gas tax holiday would cost the federal government $3.5 billion while a six month holiday would cost $21 billion. <\/p>\n Marsha Anderson Bomar, president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, a trade group, argued that a federal gas tax suspension would be unlikely to show up in savings for drivers since the taxes are collected at the distribution level \u2014 but would diminish needed infrastructure revenue.<\/p>\n \u201cThe intent is good, but it doesn\u2019t work out the way people think it will, which is for the reductions to show up at the pump so that it helps the individual motorists be able to afford fuel prices,\u201d Anderson Bomar said. \u201cBut the harm to the infrastructure program can be pretty significant. Those dollars are not collected, and it means that you have less to invest in critical infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n To ensure savings reach consumers, Talarico\u2019s campaign proposed \u201cempowering the Department of Energy and Federal Trade Commission to prevent price gouging and ensure companies pass on the savings from the tax suspension.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, who is facing off against Attorney General Ken Paxton in a runoff for the Republican nomination for his seat, told Fox 4 News<\/a> Tuesday that suspending the federal gas and diesel tax was \u201cnot really a solution\u201d and would \u201cmake things worse.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat that will do is explode the deficit,\u201d Cornyn said. \u201cAnd right now, we\u2019re spending more money on interest on the national debt than we are on defense, which is an unsustainable situation in the time of more and more danger around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n President Donald Trump said last month the idea<\/a> is \u201csomething we have in our pocket if we think it\u2019s necessary.\u201d Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, a Republican, last week called for<\/a> the temporary suspension of the state gas tax.<\/p>\n Talarico also pushed for an end to the war with a deal that \u201ctakes troops out of harm\u2019s way and lowers prices at home,\u201d and his campaign argued for an \u201call-of-the-above\u201d approach to bolstering American energy independence by investing in oil and gas, nuclear, wind, solar and geothermal energy. <\/p>\n Talarico has centered his campaign since its launch in September around a populist, \u201ctop vs. bottom\u201d pitch targeting the influence of billionaire political donors and taking power back for working Texans.<\/p>\n His announcements over the past two weeks drill down on how he would make good on that promise. The plans build on \u201canti-corruption\u201d proposals<\/a> he backed during the primary to ban super PACs, partisan gerrymandering, congressional stock trading and presidential pardons while imposing term limits on members of Congress and stricter ethics rules on Supreme Court justices.<\/p>\n Last week, Talarico vowed to help \u201cfix our corrupt tax system\u201d by ensuring billionaires \u201cpay their fair share.\u201d He proposed measures<\/a> including closing the \u201ccarried interest loophole,\u201d which allows investment managers to claim a lower tax rate by treating capital gains as profit rather than income; ending the \u201cbuy, borrow, die\u201d loophole whereby the ultrawealthy skirt taxes by borrowing against their wealth to access tax-free cash flow; and restricting offshore bank accounts that Talarico\u2019s campaign said lead to more than $100 billion in annual lost revenue.<\/p>\n