President Biden called on Congress to suspend the federal gas tax for the next three months to save U.S. Consumers some money at the pump during the busy travel season.
With this move, drivers will not have to pay 18.4 cents per gallon of gasoline and about 24.4 cents per gallon of diesel which has been around for 90 years. Biden called on Congress to suspend the federal tax for 90 days, or through the end of September, to provide consumers relief.
“I fully understand that a gas tax holiday alone is not going to fix the problem, but it will provide families some immediate relief — just a little bit of breathing room — as we continue working to bring down prices for the long haul,” Biden said during remarks in the White House Eisenhower Executive Office Building’s South Court Auditorium.
According to Biden, the tax is used for the Highway Trust Fund, which maintains the nation’s highways.
“With the tax revenues up this year and our deficit down over $1.6 trillion this year alone, we’ll still be able to fix our highways and bring down prices of gas. We can do both at the same time,” Biden said.
He also called on states to either suspend the state gas tax as well or find other ways to deliver some relief.
"Thanks to our historic economic recovery, which fortified state budgets that had been hurt in the pandemic, states are now in a strong position to be able to afford to take some of these actions," Biden said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., did not commit to elevating the issue to a vote.
"We will see where the consensus lies on a path forward for the President’s proposal in the House and the Senate," Pelosi wrote in a statement after Biden’s announcement.
Biden specifically called on companies to make sure that "every penny" of those savings is passed through to consumers.
"This is no time for profiteering," he added.
He further called on the industry to refine more oil into gasoline and bring down gas prices. Republicans widely oppose lifting the gas tax.
“I hope my call for action can help move those proposals forward as well. But we can also cut gas prices even more in another way,” Biden said.
“My message is simple. To the companies running gas stations and setting those prices at the pump: This is a time of war, global peril, Ukraine. These are not normal times. Bring down the price you are charging at the pump to reflect the cost you are paying for the product. Do it now. Do it today. Your customers, the American people, they need relief now.”
The Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, and Biden administration officials will meet with refining companies tomorrow.
“I hope they’ll come up to the table with some real ideas and practical steps in the near term. I'm prepared to act quickly and decisively on their recommendations if they make sense to address the immediate challenge in front of us and the American people,” Biden said.
