The idea of temporarily abolishing the tax to lower fuel prices will face opposition in Congress.
US President Joe Biden is expected to call for a temporary suspension of the federal 18.4-cent-gallon gasoline tax on Wednesday, a White House source told Reuters on Tuesday.
Biden said Monday that he was considering suspending the tax while the United States struggles to cope with rising gasoline prices and inflation. The suspension of the gasoline tax could deal with serious opposition in Congress, particularly among many Democrats.
The White House said Biden would comment on gasoline prices at 2:00 p.m. Wednesday Eastern Time in the United States, without going into details.
High gasoline prices are a major political issue for Biden and Democrats, who are trying to retain control of Congress in the November midterm elections.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, on Tuesday called on Biden to support the abolition of the gasoline tax, saying ‘it will bring real and immediate relief without compromising the federal government’s ability to invest in infrastructure.’
Republicans strongly oppose suspending the gasoline tax. In February, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell scoffed at the idea of ending the tax, supported by some Democrats, saying that ‘they [the Biden administration] spent a whole year in a holy war with available American energy.’
Biden used many levers to try to lower prices, including releasing a record amount of oil from strategic reserves and appealing to large OPEC countries to increase production.
Fuel prices around the world are rising due to a combination of several factors – the recovery of demand, sanctions against Russia and the reduction of processing capacity.
As of June 11, the average price of gasoline in the United States for the first time exceeded $5 per gallon.
According to the Department of Energy, adjusted for inflation, the average price of gasoline in the United States is still lower than the maximum in June 2008, when the price of fuel reached $5.41 per gallon.
