Succumbing to mounting pressures within his own party, President Biden appears to be on the precipice of possibly suspending the federal gas tax for a temporary period to ease prices at the pump this summer.
Keep in mind that a year ago, the average price was around $3.00 per gallon nationwide so knocking 18 cents off the current average of around $5.00 per gallon doesn’t seem as impactful as it could be.
While the paltry 18.3 cents per gallon in federal tax on gasoline isn’t much to sneeze at, it is at least in the category of “doing something” to help ease the pain at the pump caused directly by Joe Biden’s energy policies. Drivers, for what it’s worth, will probably take anything they can get to chip away the total cost to fill their tank this summer.
Why the sudden change of heart from encouraging Americans to enjoy this course change away from fossil fuels? It may just be political realities of the midterms sinking in and weary Congressional Democrats screaming for a lifeline:
Biden told reporters he is considering a pause on the federal gas tax, which some lawmakers in his party have pushed as a way to reduce prices at the pump for Americans.
“Well, I hope I have a decision based on the data I’m looking for … by the end of the week,” Biden said Monday while on vacation in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
The gas tax adds 18.3 cents per gallon of gasoline. The national average price for a gallon was $4.981 on Monday, according to AAA.
Biden administration officials suggested on Sunday that the administration could suspend the federal tax gas, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen saying on ABC’s “This Week” that it’s “an idea that’s certainly worth considering” and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm saying on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the idea was under evaluation.
What happened to the incredible transition Biden said was going so well?
While Biden parades around Rehoboth Beach in Delaware and falls off his bicycle while trying to stop and talk to onlookers, the rest of the country languishes into summer thanks to his inflationary policies crushing the economy.
Biden’s consideration of the gas tax holiday isn’t happening in a vacuum, several Democratic Senators have been pushing a bill to provide temporary relief and begging the President to act:
Democrat Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) says it’s frustrating that Biden hasn’t supported the push to temporarily halt federal gas tax.
In an interview on Fox News, Hassan said the Biden administration should be doing everything they can to help alleviate the sky high prices for consumers at the pump.
“What I’ve been pushing for is, among other things, is suspending the gas tax. That helps put some more money back in people’s pockets. I’m pushing the administration to support that. They haven’t yet and that’s frustrating,” Hassan said.
Hassan teamed up with fellow Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) to create a bill titled the Gas Prices Relief Act, that would put a hold on the 8.4-cents-per-gallon federal tax through the rest of the year and that calls for the Treasury Department to make sure the savings are passed on to consumers rather than the oil and gas companies.
Biden seems content with taking his time on these matters to truly consider the issue from all sides. The trend for his administration is to slow-walk anything it doesn’t want to do but fast-track items like voting rights or spending a few trillion dollars on Build Back Better. Otherwise, Biden’s not interested in providing immediate and direct relief to the country he’s currently abusing.
There’s still no telling whether Biden will actually follow through with a plan and provide some minimal gas price relief. If his poll numbers are any guide, however, maybe he and his party are seeing the writing on the wall coming up in November.
