President Biden plans to ask Congress on Wednesday to suspend the 18-cent-per-gallon federal gas tax until September, Fox Business reports.
As of Wednesday, the national average price of a gallon of regular gasoline stood at $4.96, up from $3.07 a year ago.
According to The Washington Post, economists were "lukewarm on the idea," while "lawmakers in both parties" expressed "skepticism." Pausing the gas tax will stimulate demand, which could drive the price of gas up even further. Great for oil companies — for consumers, perhaps not so much.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A senior administration official said Biden is also "calling on states to suspend their gas taxes or else find other ways to deliver the same relief, such as consumer rebates or relief payments."
The official also clarified that this three-month tax holiday will not strip any money from the Highway Trust Fund, which uses federal gas tax revenue to finance highways and mass transit. Other revenue will be redirected to fill in the roughly $10 billion hole in the trust fund's budget, the official said.
-
‘These wouldn’t be playgrounds for billionaires’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
The 5 best nuclear war movies of all time‘A House of Dynamite’ reanimates a dormant cinematic genre for our new age of atomic insecurity
-
Should the US resume nuclear testing?Talking Points Trump vows to restart testing, but China might benefit most
-
Has Zohran Mamdani shown the Democrats how to win again?Today’s Big Question New York City mayoral election touted as victory for left-wing populists but moderate centrist wins elsewhere present more complex path for Democratic Party
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
