President Joe Biden said he is considering supporting a federal gasoline tax holiday that could provide some relief to U.S. consumers who paid the price of surging gasoline and oil costs after Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
A pause on the federal gasoline tax could save U.S. consumers as much as 18.4 cents per gallon. It is 24.3 cents for diesel, plus the 0.1 cents a storage fee. The national average price for a gallon was $4.981 on Monday, according to AAA. The nation saw a record-breaking average of $5.02 a few days ago.
Biden told reporters after taking a walk along the beach near his Delaware vacation home that members of his team were to meet this week with CEOs of the major oil companies to discuss rising prices. According to White House officials, an announcement for measures to help lower gas prices is slated to come on the July 4 weekend.
Biden said he seeks “an explanation [of] how they justify making $35 billion” during the first quarter of 2022.
A gas tax holiday would require congressional action. A White House official, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Associated Press that conversations are ongoing, and Biden wants to explore all possibilities to lower prices.
In March, the Biden administration authorized the release of one million barrels of oil a day from the country's Strategic Petroleum Reserve for six months, in an effort to ease high gas prices caused by the significant global supply disruption caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine.
