President Joe Biden will call on Congress to suspend federal gasoline and diesel taxes for three months, according to media reports.
At issue is the 18.4-cents a gallon federal tax on gasoline. The move aims to ease financial pressures among U.S. families caused by high inflation.
A 24.4 cents-a-gallon federal tax on diesel fuel will be discussed. If approved, consumers would save roughly 3.6% at the pump when gasoline prices are averaging about $5 a gallon nationwide.
Biden said Monday he was considering a pause in the tax. The decision however will face significant opposition in Congress from both parties. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi previously said she had doubts about the value of suspending federal gas taxes.
According to reports, Biden will also call on states to suspend their own gas taxes or provide a similar relief to U.S. families.
With high gasoline prices and inflation posing a major threat to Biden’s electoral and policy ambitions, Energy companies are scheduled to meet Thursday with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.
In an interview with the Associated Press last week, Biden said the U.S. is already nursing some psychological scars from the coronavirus pandemic and that high gasoline prices were to blame.
“If you notice, until gas prices started going up things were much more, they were much more optimistic.” Biden said then.
