Tuesday 7 June 2022 07:19 PM Democratic Sen. Stabenow brags it doesn't 'matter' how high gas prices are ... trends now Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow brags that it doesn't 'matter' to her how high gas prices are because she drives by every station in her electric vehicle Democratic Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow said that it 'doesn't matter' to her how high gas prices get because she has an electric vehicle 'On the issue of gas prices [I] went by every gas station [in my electric vehicle] and it didn't matter how high it was,' the Michigan senator said during a hearing Added: 'I'm looking forward to the opportunity for us to move to vehicles that aren't going to be dependent on the whims of the oil companies' As of Tuesday, the average price per gallon of gas in the U.S. reached a new high of $4.92 – even higher in Stabenow's home state of Michigan at $5.17 United States senators make an annual salary of $174,000 The average cost of an electric vehicle is $56,437, which is approximately $10,000 higher than the industry average By Katelyn Caralle, U.S. Political Reporter For Dailymail.com Published: 19:14 BST, 7 June 2022 | Updated: 19:14 BST, 7 June 2022 Viewcomments Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow said that gas prices 'don't matter' personally to her because she has an electric vehicle as she urged the country to move toward this mode of transportation to decrease reliability on greedy oil companies. 'On the issue of gas prices – after waiting for a long time to have enough chips in this country to finally get my electric vehicle – I got it and drove it from Michigan to here this last weekend and went by every gas station and it didn't matter how high it was,' the Michigan senator said during a hearing on water shortages in the Western U.S. She added: 'I'm looking forward to the opportunity for us to move to vehicles that aren't going to be dependent on the whims of the oil companies and the international markets.' United States senators make an annual salary of $174,000. The average cost of an electric vehicle, according to Kelley Blue Book, is $56,437, which is approximately $10,000 higher than the industry average including cars that are electric and gas. Michigan's average household income is $59,234 between 2016-2020 – just a few thousand over the typical cost of an EV, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Democratic Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow said that it 'doesn't matter' to her how high gas prices get because she has an electric vehicle and doesn't have to worry about it As of Tuesday, the average price per gallon of gas in the U.S. reached a new high of $4.92 – and it's even higher in Stabenow's home state of Michigan at $5.17 per gallon As of Tuesday, the average price per gallon of gas in the U.S. reached a new high of $4.92. In Michigan the average sits higher at $5.17 per gallon, according to AAA's tracker. Stabenow's office did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com regarding the senator's comments. Some of President Joe Biden's lowest marks are on his handling of gas prices, which the administration continues to dub the 'Putin gas price hike' in an attempt to peg the continually inflating numbers on the war in Eastern Europe. Michigan is a battleground state that went marginally red in 2016 for Trump by just 0.3 percent and swung back to blue in 2020, going 50.6 percent for Biden and 47.8 for the former president's reelection. Stabenow's comments downplaying concerns of Americans who are struggling to afford the $100 plus it cost to fill their cars' gas tanks came during a hearing about addressing the water shortage crisis in the west amid droughts and wildfires. The Democratic senator from Michigan is Chairwoman of the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, which has under it the Conservation, Climate, Forestry, and Natural Resources Subcommittee where Tuesday's hearing was held. Stabenow is currently in the middle of her third term in the upper chamber of Congress. Before that she served as a member of the House of Representatives for Michigan's 8th district from 1997 to until her election to the Senate in 2001. When adjusted to reflect inflation of the value in 2020, Stabenow has been making over $212,000 per year since becoming a member of Congress in the late 1990s. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility