Sen. Todd Young pumps gas in Lafayette, talks about inflation and abortion

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Indiana Sen. Todd Young surprised many of his Lafayette constituents Friday afternoon when he stopped by a gas station to help pump people’s gas and talk about issues in Indiana.

Young stopped by the Marathon gas station along Twyckenham Boulevard, as part of the conservative advocacy group Americans for Prosperity's “True Cost of Washington” gas rollback event.

For a two-hour period, customers were met with a temporary price of $2.38 a gallon when they drove up to the pump. Americans for Prosperity wanted to highlight the prices of gas currently compared to when President Joe Biden first came into office.

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Young met with reporters and briefly spoke about his reasoning for attending Friday’s event.

“I want the people of Lafayette and really throughout Indiana to know that I’m attentive to the gas price challenges that people are experiencing. $2.38 was the price of gas when President Biden and Kamala Harris came into office, it’s now almost 4 dollars, $3.88, is the average here in the state of Indiana,” said Young.

“What we’re trying to convey is that this is a result of public policy choices. Cancelation of the Keystone XL pipeline, regulations that prevent domestic oil and gas drilling, and a basic animus against fossil fuels, and this is not consistent with what Hoosiers want.”

Although gas prices have been high over the past several months, consumers have recently seen a fall in the average cost of a gallon of gas. On Friday, AAA showcased that the nationwide average price for a gallon of gas dropped to $3.97, which is around a 20% drop since the mid-June high, and it’s the first time the average has dipped below $4 since early March.

Young said that although prices were seeing a downward trend, to enact real change he believed a change in leadership was needed.

“Well, we’ve seen some recent trends going down and we think that’s a good thing, but we still haven’t seen a change of policies. We don’t think Hoosiers are getting the sort of relief that they deserve, abstain a change in leadership,” he added.

The conversation regarding the cost of gas soon transitioned to the issue of abortion in Indiana.

Last Friday, Gov. Eric Holcomb signed into law a near-total ban on abortion in the state with the exceptions of rape, incest, and the life and health of the mother.

More:State Sen. Alting on Indiana's new abortion ban: 'My heart bleeds' for Indiana women'

Young was asked how he felt about the Statehouse's recent decision to ban abortion. “People of Indiana have weighed in. I have great confidence in their ability collectively to make decisions about how our state should be led.”

Shortly after the interview with reporters, Young left to speak with motorists and help them pump gas.

Young could be seen praising motorists' vehicles and listening to them share their joy atf filling up for cheap.

One motorist, Deb, asked Young why he wasn’t advocating for the rights of women in the State of Indiana. “Aren’t you supposed to advocate for your constituents?” she told the Journal & Courier she had asked Young.

Deb and Young could be heard exchanging a few lines of dialogue, before Young could be heard telling the motorist to reach out to Jim Baird, Indiana’s 4^th district Representative.

As Young walked toward the next motorist, he waved goodbye saying, “I hope you enjoy your cheap gas.”

Other motorists were willing to share their experiences of being able to fill up on cheaper gas with the Journal & Courier.

Noel Pacheco was driving down Twyckenham Blvd when he saw a man holding up a sign saying, ‘$2.38 GAS 1 pm to 3 pm’, and immediately jumped into line.

“I thought it was a church doing good for the community, so I decided to stop by, I didn’t know exactly what was going on, but I saw $2.38 and dropped by. I just spent $35, when I normally would spend $60. So, it’s quite some help,” said Pacheco.

Although the $35 at the pump was nice, Pacheco shared that what would really help his family was if the price of both gas and food were to go down.

“It wasn’t just the gas, but everything else went up as well. Whether it be gas that goes down or food. It would help with the cost of everything else like groceries, bills, or whatever else,” he added.

Pacheco said that he currently works 60 hours a week in order to afford his current expenses as well as to have some spare cash for his children’s expenses. Pacheco has one daughter and another child on the way. “I think everything is so much more than it used to be, but it feels good that people are doing for the community.”

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Sen. Todd Young pumps gas, talks about inflation and abortion