From Publius Papers. Congress is out this week, with no votes scheduled, so today we're looking at a number every household feels: the price of gas. The U.S. average for regular was $4.27 a gallon on Monday, down five weeks in a row but still $1.23 more than a year ago. Below: what's behind that, the two bills still waiting on the President, and what Congress does next.
1. Gas: down five weeks in a row, still up $1.23 from last year
The numbers: The Energy Information Administration (EIA), the federal government's energy statistics agency, puts the U.S. average for regular gasoline at $4.27 a gallon for the week of Oct 26, 2026. That's down from $4.48 on Sept. 21, and below this year's high of $4.50 on May 11. A year ago, the same week averaged $3.04.
What's behind it: Our breakdown of a gallon, built the way EIA builds its own, shows crude oil did most of the work. In October 2025, crude made up about $1.54 of a $3.06 gallon. By September 2026, it was about $2.72 of a $4.36 gallon. Refining grew from about 35¢ to 72¢. Taxes stayed at about 51¢: the 18.4¢ federal gas tax, which hasn't changed since 1993, plus an average of about 33¢ in state taxes.
Who it affects: Every driver, plus anyone who pays for shipping, delivery or travel. Prices differ a lot by region, so check your state on our gas price page.
2. Still on the President's desk
Two bills presented to the President on Oct 26 are still waiting, according to Congress.gov as of this morning:
The President has until Friday, Nov. 6, to sign or veto them. Both passed both chambers without a recorded vote.
Quick list
No new bills filed Tuesday: Neither chamber met on Oct 27, so no bills were introduced and no votes were taken.
Still waiting to be sent: The Common Cents Act (H.R. 10167), which would end penny production for circulation, passed the Senate on Sept 28 but hasn't been presented to the President yet.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3: See who represents you and who funds their campaigns on My ballot, using Federal Election Commission data.
What's next
Thursday, Oct 29: The House meets in a pro forma session at noon Eastern, and the Senate at 2 PM Eastern. A pro forma session is a brief meeting with no votes or legislative business.
Friday, Nov. 6: The President's deadline to act on H.R. 8205 and H.R. 1744.
Monday: EIA's next weekly gas price update. We'll chart it on our gas page.
Get our charts daily: follow @PubliusPapersHQ on X
Thanks for reading.
The Publius Papers team
Data: U.S. Energy Information Administration weekly retail gasoline prices (regular, all formulations), pulled Oct 28, 2026. The breakdown of a gallon is a Publius estimate using EIA's "What we pay for" method: crude is the Brent price per gallon, refining is the New York Harbor wholesale gasoline price minus crude, taxes are federal plus an average state tax, and distribution and marketing is the rest. Bill status is from the Congress.gov API (Library of Congress), pulled Oct 28, 2026.