President Joe Biden is weighing the possibility of a federal gas-tax holiday as millions of Americans continue to struggle with the high cost of living.
“I hope to have a decision based on the data I’m looking for by the end of the week,” Biden told reporters Monday in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, according to CNN.
Pausing the federal gas tax — 18.4 cents a gallon — would require action from Congress. A pair of Democratic senators unveiled legislation in February to shelve the tax until 2023, but lawmakers haven’t otherwise made much headway on the idea.
Gas prices are continuously soaring for months following the US ban on Russian oil imports amid the Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and a mismatch between supply and demand. According to AAA, Monday’s nationwide average for gas was below $5 a gallon,
In an interview on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said a federal gas-tax holiday was “certainly worth considering.” What’s more, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday that the idea was under consideration.
