Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-33)
A mother in Pennsylvania should not have to choose between filling her gas tank and feeding her children — but that is exactly the reality many families are facing today.
Across our commonwealth, working people are not just noticing higher prices at the pump — they are feeling fear, frustration and financial strain that grows with every gallon purchased. This is not about inconvenience. It is about survival. When fuel prices surge this rapidly, they do more than strain budgets — they threaten livelihoods, disrupt families and punish people who are simply trying to get to work and care for those they love.
Since the outbreak of conflict involving Iran, global oil markets have surged, driving gasoline prices sharply higher across the country and here at home. What was once a manageable expense has become a growing burden families cannot escape. And in Pennsylvania, that burden is made heavier by one of the highest gasoline taxes in the nation — nearly 58 cents per gallon — piling state-imposed costs onto an already worsening crisis.
This is not just an economic issue — it is a moral one.
Government exists to serve the people, especially in moments of crisis. When families are hurting, leadership is not measured by patience or process — it is measured by action. Doing nothing while families struggle is not neutrality. It is a decision — a decision to allow hardship to deepen when relief is possible.
Across Pennsylvania, the impact is being felt everywhere.
For many residents — especially in rural communities — driving is not optional. It is essential. People must travel miles to reach their workplaces, schools, farms and hospitals. Truckers who deliver our goods, farmers who feed our nation and small business owners who keep local economies alive are absorbing higher fuel costs every day. Those costs do not disappear — they are passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices for food, materials and services.
At kitchen tables across our commonwealth, families are making impossible choices:
Do we fill the tank or fill the refrigerator?
Do we make it to work this week or delay paying the electric bill?
These are not theoretical concerns. They are happening now.
Other states have demonstrated relief is possible. During periods of sharp fuel price increases, states such as Georgia have temporarily suspended their gas taxes to provide immediate financial relief to residents. Pennsylvania should not lag behind while our citizens struggle to keep up.
Suspending the state gas tax — temporarily and responsibly — would provide immediate breathing room to families already stretched thin by inflation. It would help stabilize small businesses facing rising transportation costs. It would support farmers working to sustain food production and truckers working to keep supply chains moving. And most importantly, it would signal that government understands the urgency of this moment and is willing to act.
Critics will argue gas tax revenue supports infrastructure, and they are correct — our roads and bridges matter. But infrastructure exists to serve people, not the other way around. In times of extraordinary hardship, government must place the needs of families first. Temporary relief in a time of crisis is not reckless — it is responsible.
This is not a partisan issue. It is not about ideology. It is about survival for working families who are doing everything right yet falling further behind through no fault of their own.
Leadership is tested in moments like this.
Not when times are easy — but when families are hurting.
Every day of delay costs Pennsylvanians more money they cannot afford to lose. Every week without relief tightens the financial strain on households already stretched to their limits. And every month of inaction risks pushing more families to the brink.
Pennsylvania families do not need sympathy. They need relief.
Suspend the gas tax — temporarily, responsibly and immediately — until global energy markets stabilize and prices return to manageable levels.
Because when families are hurting this badly, waiting is not leadership.
Act now.