CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Gov. Justice took time out of his remarks on COVID-19 to announce that, after careful consideration since revisiting the topic in his briefing Monday, he will not be calling a special session to discuss a temporary pause of the state gas tax.
“People are hurting, but the bottom line to the whole thing is just this: the blame lies right at the feet of the administration in Washington, D.C.,” Gov. Justice said.
“From the standpoint of calling a special session in regard to a gas tax holiday, it is absolutely going to be two things: a total waste of time and, on top of that, it will absolutely cost the taxpayers money,” Gov. Justice said. “We’ve heard from the majority of the Legislature, and they do not have an interest. It’s dead. It’s gone.
“A gas tax holiday would involve us pulling out $36 million to $40 million that could be going toward building roads, fixing slips, and everything else under the sun. At the end of the day that money will give us decades and decades of benefit. We can’t afford to be frivolous with it,” Gov. Justice continued. “Now, it is true that people are hurting. But the bottom line is that the blame lies right at the feet of the administration in Washington, D.C.
“I don’t know where this nation is going. We should have energy independence in this country. Right from the beginning, President Biden, driven by these left-wing nutjobs, came out and stabbed West Virginia right in the heart and said, ‘We don’t need gas, we don’t need coal, and, West Virginia, you would die on the vine.’
“That message rippled across the entire globe. All of a sudden people became emboldened. The Russians invaded Ukraine. And now we have a situation where our people in this great state are driving and looking up at a sign that says the price of gasoline is $5 per gallon. Really and truly, it is all driven right at the feet of President Biden and this out-of-control administration in D.C.”