Biden To Call On Congress To Suspend Gas Tax For 3 Months

President Joe Biden will ask Congress Wednesday to suspend the federal gas tax until September, as Americans across the country struggle with rising prices. The president will urge members of Congress to introduce a three-month federal tax holiday without deducting money from the Freeway Fund, which funds freeways and public transportation. Gas prices rose by 50% nationally last year. (Getty Images / Getty Images) “I want to be very clear, the president is calling on Congress to take this step to help American families without harming the Highway Trust Fund, which is funded by these taxes,” a senior government official said Tuesday night. The official suggested that the federal government’s budget deficit, which has shrunk by $ 1.6 trillion this year, allows the United States to suspend the gas tax while using other revenues to complete the $ 10 billion Highway Trust Fund. OBAMA CALLED GAS TAX TERMINATION “END” IN 2008 AS BIDEN SAYS NOW THOUGHT The federal government currently charges 18 cents in taxes per gallon of gasoline and imposes a 20% tax on each gallon of diesel, the official said. Biden will also call on states, oil companies and retailers to halt gas taxes. The Penn Wharton Budget Model released estimates Wednesday, revealing that gas tax cuts in Georgia, Maryland and Connecticut were saving consumers money. Most of the savings in these sectors went to consumers instead of gas stations and others to the energy sector. Gas costs began to rise last fall and continued to rise after Russia’s costs invasion of Ukraine at the end of February, although the administration frames the increase in gas prices as a “Putin price increase”. “[Biden] “He believes that states, oil companies and retailers have a responsibility at this unique moment – to do their part to improve Putin’s price increases,” he said. relief, such as consumer discounts or relief payments “. BIDEN ALLOWS TO STOP GAS TAX, BUT ANALYSIS SHOWS THAT HE CAN DRIVE INFLATION Gasoline prices are around $ 4.00 a gallon for the cheapest category at several gas stations in the state capital on April 11, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images / Getty Images) The official further said that the president is pushing the gas industry and oil retailers to reduce the price of gas as oil prices begin to fall. “It also calls on the industry to put its record profits into action and to increase supply and refining capacity to reduce gas prices, and in particular calls on the major oil refineries to come to the table with specific solutions when the Minister of Energy convenes them. “later this week,” the official said. “And when the cost of oil falls as it has for the past two weeks, the president is urging retailers to properly reduce their prices and pass on the savings to consumers,” he said. The national average for a gallon of gas is currently close to $ 5. Earlier this year, the highest national average gas price ever recorded by AAA was $ 4,114 per gallon in July 2008. The president blamed oil refineries for raising gas prices in letters sent last week to seven refineries, including Chevron, ExxonMobil and BP. However, oil refineries have said their capacity to produce extra gas and diesel fuel is limited. CASH SEC. GELEN SAYS THE ONLY WAY TO CORRECT THE ENERGY CRISIS IS TO “PARTICIPATE IN RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES” Fuel prices at Chevron gas station in San Francisco, California, USA, on Thursday, June 9, 2022. (David Paul Morris / Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images) The American Petroleum Institute and American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers sent a joint letter to Biden last week saying the refineries were already operating at near full capacity and that almost half of the capacity removed from the grid was due to convertible plants. . And Chevron CEO Michael Wirth wrote a letter to Biden on Tuesday, noting that the company works daily to “help provide the world with the energy it needs and enhance the lives of billions of people based on these supplies.” . He continued: “Despite these efforts, your government has tried hard to criticize and sometimes discredit our industry. These actions are not beneficial to the challenges we face and are not what the American people deserve. ”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT FOX BUSINESS Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm will meet with the top seven refineries later this week on how the federal government can help increase refining capacity. Biden’s former boss, former President Barack Obama, called the gas tax a “trick” in the 2008 election campaign. . summer so lawmakers can “say they did something.” There is also concern about the impact of a gas tax holiday on already high inflation. The Commission for a Responsible Federal Budget, a non-partisan group that has supported the reduction of the federal budget in the past argued that a 10-month tax suspension could indeed increase demand for petrol and other goods and services when the economy is already experiencing high consumer demand and supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic.
“While the gas tax holiday may lower pump prices, it will further increase demand for gasoline and other goods and services at a time when the economy has little capacity to absorb it,” the blog post said. “The result could be even higher inflation rates in 2023.”