How much have W.Va. gas and milk prices increased in a year?

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., is expressing displeasure with Democratic spending priorities in Congress, arguing that the expanding federal budget has already resulted in inflation for such key commodities as gasoline and milk. 

In an Aug. 12 op-ed for The Intelligencer, a Wheeling newspaper, Capito criticized the Democrats’ "reckless tax and spending spree" and suggested that middle-class American families and small businesses will suffer.

She used price increases in West Virginia as an example.

"In West Virginia, a gallon of gas is nearly one dollar more than it was a year ago, and we’re paying about 30 cents more for a gallon of milk than we did at this time last year," Capito wrote.

She added, "This reckless tax and spending spree is filled with taxes on middle-class Americans and small businesses, and will ultimately be paid for by working families at gas pumps, car dealerships, and grocery stores."

When we looked into the underlying data, we found that Capito’s numerical claim was off somewhat, but not dramatically so. 

According to AAA, on Aug. 12, 2020, the average price for a gallon of gas in West Virginia was $2.11. On that same day one year later, the average price for a gallon of gas in West Virginia was $3.05. This is a 94-cent change over one year, which is close to a dollar.

Featured Fact-check

Wisconsin Corn Growers Association

stated on May 27, 2011 in a radio ad

"Without ethanol, gas prices would be at least 15% higher. With gas at four bucks, that means you’re saving 12 bucks on a 20 gallon fill up."

As for milk prices, Capito’s office cited information from data for West Virginia produced by Congress’ Joint Economic Committee.

The report found that the price of a gallon of milk was $3.45 in August 2020. At the time of Capito’s statement in August 2021, a gallon of milk in West Virginia was $3.63. That’s an 18-cent increase, not 30 cents.

The U.S. Agriculture Department publishes milk price data for selected cities, but none are in West Virginia. Two of the closer cities to West Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Louisville, Ky., saw more than 30-cent increases between August 2020 and August 2021. 

It’s worth noting that several factors, including higher demand after business reopenings, have contributed to the price rises for key commodities, not simply government spending.

For gasoline, for instance, Patrick De Haan of the gasoline-price service GasBuddy told PolitiFact that the recent rise "has nothing to do" with policies instituted by the current White House, although those policies could make a difference years down the road. The biggest factor, De Haan said, is that "we're comparing to a time when demand was much much lower amidst COVID-19 lockdowns that brought lower prices."

Capito wrote, "In West Virginia, a gallon of gas is nearly one dollar more than it was a year ago, and we’re paying about 30 cents more for a gallon of milk than we did at this time last year." 

Gas prices in West Virginia did rise nearly a dollar during the year prior to her op-ed. Milk prices also rose, but by less than she said, about 18 cents a gallon, rather than 30 cents.

We rate the statement Mostly True.