WASHINGTON, June 22 (Reuters) – US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called on Congress to pass a three-month suspension of federal gasoline taxes to help fight record pump prices and provide temporary relief for American families this summer.
“We can reduce the price of gas and give families a little relief,” Biden told the White House.
The president also called on states to temporarily suspend state fuel taxes, which are often higher than federal rates, the official said, and would challenge major oil companies to come up with ideas on how to restore idle refining capacity when they meet with his energy secretary. in Thursday .
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Biden and his advisers have been discussing the issue for months amid growing pressure to act as record high gas prices weigh on the president’s poll and cast a dark cloud on Democrats’ chances of retaining power in Congress in November.
The suspension of the federal gas tax of 18.4 cents per gallon and 24.4 cents on diesel will require congressional approval, which is likely to make Biden’s speech largely symbolic.
Lawmakers on both sides have opposed opposition to the tax suspension, with some Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, worried the move could have a limited effect on prices if oil companies and retailers collect much of the money. savings.
Biden has asked Congress to suspend the fuel tax by September, a move that will cost the Trust Fund for highways approximately $ 10 billion in lost revenue but could be offset by other areas of the budget where revenues are rising and deficits are shrinking of the United States from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Peter DeFazio, a Democrat and chairman of the House of Representatives’ Transport and Infrastructure Committee, told reporters Wednesday that the federal gas tax would provide “minimal relief” as he blew a budget hole in the highway trust fund needed to repair destructive bridges and building a modern infrastructure system. “
Some states, such as New York and Connecticut, have already suspended state fuel taxes, while others have offered ideas such as consumer discounts and direct relief.
Refineries are struggling to meet global demand for diesel and gasoline, which exacerbates high prices and exacerbates shortages. Read more
“The suspension of the federal gas tax will certainly provide short-term relief for US drivers, but it will not solve the root of the problem – the imbalance in supply and demand for petroleum products,” said a spokesman for US fuel and petrochemical producers. group said.
Longer-term policies are still needed to increase energy production in the United States, it said.
Pump prices in the United States average nearly $ 5 a gallon, as growing demand for motor fuels coincides with a loss of about 1 million barrels per day of processing capacity. Many plants have closed in the last three years as demand for fuel plummeted in the midst of a pandemic. Read more
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Report by Jarrett Renshaw; additional reports by Catherine Jackson; Edited by Susan Heavy, Nick Zieminski and Grant McCool
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