x
Breaking News
More () »

Bill to pause gas tax proposed by Senator Flynn

State Senator Marty Flynn's bill to suspend the gas tax is expected to be introduced in the PA Senate within the next week.

DUNMORE, Pa. — A group gathered at the Dunmore Food Mart off Drinker Street.

As they stood in front of the gas pumps, it became apparent why they were there.

State Senator Marty Flynn announced a bill he is introducing in Harrisburg that would temporarily suspend the 57-cent gas tax in the Keystone State through the end of 2022.

"This will temporarily ease the financial burden on the working families of our state. You can't regulate greed. We can't change the market forces beyond our borders. But it's time in Harrisburg, we do what we can to help the working class," Flynn said.

People from the community came out to share their stories of how skyrocketing gas prices are hitting them hard at home and at work.

"It's a 25-minute commute. I do it four to five times a day. It's costing me $35 every other day. I have to transport grandchildren, my daughter back and forth to work. It's costing so much money that the job I've been to in the last 10 years and I love the people, I love the place," said Dawn Cardone of ransom Township. "But it's gonna result, if it keeps increasing, I'm not gonna be able to afford to come down to Scranton. I'm gonna have to find somewhere to work up in Ransom."

But it isn't just the working man who is struggling to keep up with the day-to-day tasks, it's impacting students like Jake Gilhooley of Scranton too.

"Speaking as a student, too, driving back and forth from Penn State within the past year the price of it has doubled. And students all over are not able to pay this. They're all feeling the heat from it," Gilhooley said.

But now with school out for the summer for most students, it won't look like a typical summer.

"This is the time of year when families should be taking vacations and kicking back. But these high gas prices are making people make choices where they can't go on vacation," Flynn explained.

And it's not just those trips being put on hold, it's the weekly solace many find on Sundays.

"My husband died two years ago and I lost his social security checks and I only have mine so, thank god I have my little income. But if I didn't have my income from the little cleaners that I have, I wouldn't be able to put gas in my car or put my 20 or 30 dollars in my church envelope every month, or every week rather," said Anne Harrington of Scranton.

Senator Flynn's bill to suspend the gas tax is expected to be introduced in the Senate within the next week.

   

Check out WNEP’s YouTube channel.

Before You Leave, Check This Out