Republican Senate candidates Mike Rogers of Michigan and Ashley Hinson of Iowa called Monday for an end to the war in Iran and proposed steps to lower fuel costs in the meantime.
“The war with Iran needs to end and end quickly,” Rogers said in a video. “When it does, energy costs will plummet. But Michigan families can’t afford to wait for that to happen.”
Rogers called for a temporary halt to U.S. diesel exports, arguing that keeping more diesel at home would help farmers and truckers.
“Diesel fuels the trucks that bring groceries to the store. It fuels the tractors that grow our food,” he said. “And when diesel costs more, it costs more to grow it, ship it, stock it, and ultimately buy it.”
Rogers said he had previously called for suspending state and federal gas taxes. “Seventy cents a gallon,” he said.
Hinson also called for suspending the gas tax and pausing diesel exports. She proposed expanding E15 fuel use, restoring the $1-per-gallon biodiesel tax credit and creating a diesel relief program for farmers and truckers.
“Iowans are being squeezed and shouldn’t have to foot the bill at the pump or the checkout line for the war in Iran,” Hinson wrote on X. “We need to use every option at our disposal to provide some relief from high prices.”
Hinson said the highway trust fund should be replenished if the gas tax is suspended so Iowa roads and bridges do not lose funding.
“These actions to lower costs are needed ASAP, and the war needs to be brought to a successful and immediate end,” she wrote.