President Donald Trump on Thursday night invoked a federal law to invest up to $150 million to boost domestic gasoline and diesel fuel production.

Oct. 23 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump on Thursday night invoked a Cold War-era federal law allowing the government to invest up to $150 million to boost domestic gasoline and diesel fuel production amid surging prices.

"And tonight, in more breaking news, my administration is using the Defense Production Act to release $150 million to increase American refining capacity to produce more diesel and more gasoline at record levels, actually," Trump said at a campaign rally in Sioux City, where he was stumping for Iowa Republican candidates with less than two weeks before the midterm elections.

Trump issued a presidential memorandum to invoke the Defense Production Act, a mechanism that gives the president broad powers to provide funds to companies to expand domestic production of products deemed critical to national security.

How the funds would be allocated was not stated. The U.S. Department of Energy said the funding will come from the $1 billion Congress has already appropriated for critical national security energy-related projects.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the funding will expand domestic petroleum production, storage and logistics at refineries across the country.

"By leveraging DPA authorities, DOE will help increase domestic production of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other petroleum products, strengthening America's fuel supply and lowering prices for American families and businesses," the Department of Energy said in a statement.

"Together, this funding is expected to increase U.S. refining output by millions of gallons per day."

Diesel shortages and spiking fuel costs have been pressing concerns for the Trump administration ahead of the midterm elections as Trump seeks to help the Republicans retain their slim House majority and control of the Senate.

To address global diesel shortages, the Trump administration earlier this month waved some sanctions imposed on Russia and authorized certain Russian diesel transactions so it could purchase about 800,000 of the Kremlin-produced fuel and Moscow could sell diesel on the global market until April 7.

"These Defense Production Act funds will be used strategically and in partnership with private industry to rapidly bolster America's existing energy infrastructure," U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said in a statement.

"By restoring energy addition policies, we will continue to unleash American energy dominance and lower costs for the American people."

At a rally in Kansas on Monday, Trump announced an $8 billion relief package for farmers called the Harvest Fuel Relief program to provide them with funds to offset diesel costs during harvest season.

Earlier this month, he also eased restrictions on the use of dyed diesel and directed the Treasury to defer the federal excise tax that would normally become due when such fuel is used in highway vehicles.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average price of on-highway diesel fuel rose to $6.28 per gallon on Monday, up nearly 10 cents from the previous week and $2.66 from a year earlier.