Haley says she will seek to repeal gasoline tax
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Sep. 21—BEDFORD — To help families cope with soaring inflation, Republican presidential candidate and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said she would seek to eliminate the federal gas tax.
Haley is expected to make this a centerpiece of an economic plan she will present during a major address to the New Hampshire Institute of Politics on Friday.
"We are going to eliminate it so we can start to see how we get folks back on track," Haley told the Good Morning New Hampshire talk show program with Jack Heath Thursday.
She maintained federal resources pay for only 25% of road and bridge work in the U.S., "yet they spend some of it on bike trails and rail trails."
"It is time we put that back in the hands of taxpayers and help them out," Haley said.
The federal gas tax of 18.4 cents per gallon (24.4 cents for diesel) has remained unchanged since 1993; the $4 billion it raises each year goes into the federal Highway Trust Fund.
Haley said the average New Hampshire family spends $2,000 a year on gas.
According to a University of New Hampshire poll done for CNN and released late Wednesday, Haley was moving up in the GOP race into third place at 12% behind former President Donald Trump (39%) and Vivek Ramaswamy (13%).
The other GOP rivals with noticeable support were former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (11%), Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (10%) and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott (6%).
"I take all polls with a grain of salt, sometimes you are up, sometimes you are down," Haley said.
"We definitely feel the momentum and the wind at our back here in New Hampshire, in Iowa and in South Carolina."
Haley faced some pushback to her proposals on government reform and aid to Ukraine during a question-and-answer session with the Bedford Republican Committee at Murphy's Taproom.
If elected, Haley said she would change both political appointments and civil service in the federal government by setting a five-year cap on someone staying in the same job.
"It makes for a very motivated employee and keeps power fiefdoms from happening," Haley said.
"We would rotate them in and out (of federal agencies)."
Later she added, "You can't have someone holding that position for 20 years."
As governor, Haley said she replaced all her agency heads and required that they meet "mission goals" every 90 days.
State Rep. Ted Gorski, R-Bedford, said the federal Department of Justice and FBI have run amok in recent years.
"What will you do to get those agencies back on track?" Gorski asked.
Haley said she would replace the "entire senior management" in the Justice Department.
"You have to go and really clean house; some (South Carolina) agencies we tweaked and other agencies we gutted," Haley said.
Would try to enforce term limits pledge
If elected, Haley said she would pursue congressional term limits and achieve them "from the inside out," by getting all candidates and incumbents to sign a pledge to commit to the issue.
Pembroke's Bob Burns, the 2022 Republican nominee in the 2nd Congressional District, said candidates talk about term limits during every election but never get any traction.
"It's a nice talking point but nothing more than that," Burns said.
He criticized Haley's call for limiting length of service for federal workers.
"It makes no sense to take someone who's worked for 20 years in the pharmaceutical field and send them to go work at HUD," Burns said.
"This may sound good but there's nothing efficient about that approach."
Stephen Kenda, a human resources management consultant, said it was time to end U.S. aid to Ukraine.
"Given that country has shut down voting and opposition to Orthodox churches ... why do you want to push for Ukraine right now?" questioned Kenda, a past GOP candidate for state Senate and House seats.
Haley questioned some of Kenda's claims.
"I would beg you to really look at real backup on what you are saying," Haley responded. "It worries me when you say that because the Russians are winning the disinformation war. What Russia is spreading all over the internet about this war is really concerning."
Haley said President Joe Biden could have preempted the war early on by supporting Ukraine's membership in NATO.
"It takes a long time to get into NATO, it wouldn't happen quickly," Haley said.
"Russia has never invaded a NATO country. It would have caused (Russian dictator Vladimir) Putin to say we need to have an exit strategy."
Kenda said he remained skeptical on the issue.
"Given the need to devote more resources to the border while bringing the federal budget under control, I question spending more there (in Ukraine)," Kenda told reporters.
