Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) called on the Trump administration to increase the mileage deduction rate used by small business owners who operate a vehicle for their business due to the rising cost of gas due to Trump’s war in Iran.
Advocate for increasing the federal mileage deduction rate for small business owners in response to rising gas prices.
Occurrences
Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) urged the Trump Administration to take swift action to address rising gas prices in Arizona. In just the last month, the cost of gas in Phoenix has shot up by nearly 60 cents a gallon.
Evidence
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Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) called on the Trump administration to increase the mileage deduction rate used by small business owners who operate a vehicle for their business due to the rising cost of gas due to Trump’s war in Iran.
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The Internal Revenue Service today announced that the optional standard mileage rate for business use of automobiles will increase by 2.5 cents in 2026, while the mileage rate for vehicles used for medical purposes will decrease by half a cent, reflecting updated cost data and annual inflation adjustments.
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Senator Ruben Gallego sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and issued a press release urging the IRS to raise the 2026 optional standard mileage rate and make it retroactive to March 1, 2026, citing sharply higher gas prices.
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The IRS announced the optional standard mileage rate for business use will be 72.5 cents per mile for 2026, a 2.5-cent increase reflecting updated cost data and annual inflation adjustments.
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Senator Gallego publicly urged the Treasury/IRS to increase the 2026 optional standard mileage rate and linked to a March 26, 2026 letter requesting a retroactive increase to March 1, 2026.
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The IRS announced on Dec. 29, 2025 that the optional 2026 business standard mileage rate would be 72.5 cents per mile (Notice 2026-10), a rule set before Gallego's March 26, 2026 letter.
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Senator Ruben Gallego sent a letter on March 26, 2026, to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent formally urging the IRS to increase the 2026 standard mileage deduction rate and to make such an increase retroactive to March 1, 2026, specifically citing the spike in gasoline prices and the impact on small business owners.
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Senator Ruben Gallego called on the Trump administration to increase the mileage deduction rate used by small business owners who operate a vehicle for their business due to the rising cost of gas. The release says he wrote to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urging the IRS to raise the standard mileage rate at a rate that proportionately reflects gas price increases.
legacy_unverified · Source version not recorded · locator unknown
The IRS announced on Dec. 29, 2025 that the optional standard mileage rate for business use of automobiles would increase by 2.5 cents in 2026, to 72.5 cents per mile, reflecting updated cost data and annual inflation adjustments.
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I write today to request that the IRS increase the 2026 optional standard mileage rate used to calculate the deductible cost of operating an automobile for business purposes... Increasing the standard mileage rate is critical to support the small business owners and self-employed individuals whose livelihoods have been harmed by these price increases.
legacy_unverified · Source version not recorded · locator unknown
2026 mileage rates (July 1 – Dec. 31): Self-employed and business: 76 cents/mile... 2026 (Jan. 1 – June 30): 72.5.
Assessments
The promise was framed as advocacy for increasing the federal mileage deduction rate, not as a guarantee that the IRS would adopt the increase because of him. During his current Senate term, Gallego formally and publicly urged Treasury and the IRS to raise the 2026 business mileage rate in response to higher gas prices, including a March 26, 2026 letter and March 27, 2026 Senate release. The IRS had already set the initial 2026 rate before that letter, so candidate causation for that earlier increase is limited, but the promised advocacy itself was completed in the same federal term. IRS rate tables also show a later mid-2026 increase for business/self-employed mileage, reinforcing that the policy direction occurred, though the delivery judgment does not depend on proving his sole causal role.
Gallego did the specific thing the claim asks for: he publicly and formally advocated for a higher federal mileage deduction rate, including a March 26, 2026 letter to Treasury and a Senate press release on March 27, 2026. The IRS had already set the 2026 business mileage rate on December 29, 2025, so he did not cause the rate change, but the promise is about advocacy, not passage, and that advocacy was fulfilled during his current Senate term.
The promise was framed as advocacy, not securing an IRS rate increase. In March 2026, while serving as U.S. Senator, Gallego formally urged Treasury and the IRS to raise the federal standard mileage rate for small business owners in response to higher gas prices. Although the regular 2026 IRS mileage rate increase had already been announced before his letter, that does not defeat the promise because the pledged action was to advocate for an increase, which he did in the same federal term.
Gallego's promise was to advocate for increasing the federal mileage deduction rate in response to rising gas prices for small business owners. Multiple sources confirm that, in March 2026, he publicly and formally urged the Treasury/IRS to raise the 2026 mileage deduction rate following a significant gasoline price spike – this matches the specific advocacy described in the promise. While the IRS had already set the 2026 rate before his appeal, the promise pertained to advocacy, not a guarantee of rate increase or implementation. There is clear documentation of prompt, public, formal advocacy, thus the promise is delivered. Significant effort is evident via official letters and press releases.
Sen. Ruben Gallego publicly and formally urged the Treasury/IRS to raise the 2026 optional standard mileage rate (sent a March 26, 2026 letter and press release requesting an increase and retroactivity to March 1, 2026). Although the IRS had already set the 2026 rate on Dec. 29, 2025, the claim was to advocate for an increase in response to rising gas prices — an action he took, so the promise to advocate is fulfilled.
Senator Gallego publicly and formally urged the Treasury/IRS to raise the 2026 optional standard mileage rate and to make it retroactive (press release and letter dated March 26–27, 2026). That constitutes direct advocacy as described in the claim. The IRS had already set a modest 2026 rate increase (to 72.5¢) on Dec 29, 2025 via its routine process (predating Gallego's letter), and there is no evidence his request produced a further increase or retroactivity. Because the claim is about advocacy (not about causally producing a rate change), the promise was fulfilled (delivered) in the same term.
Senator Gallego publicly and formally advocated for increasing the federal mileage deduction rate for small business owners in light of rising gas prices, as evidenced by his press statement urging the Trump administration to act. While the IRS did later increase the mileage deduction rate, this adjustment was made as part of their regular annual process based on cost data and inflation, not clearly as a direct result of Gallego's advocacy. Therefore, Gallego delivered on his promise to advocate, but did not achieve a unique policy outcome directly attributable to his efforts. Substantial effort was shown, but the impact was indirect and not solely driven by the candidate.