Biden Pushes for 90-Day Federal Gas Tax Holiday

President Joe Biden is calling on Congress to suspend federal taxes on both gas and diesel fuel for the next 90 days, despite legislative pushback.

“I’m calling on Congress to suspend the federal gas tax for the next 90 days, through the busy summer season,” the president said during a June 22 speech, noting that “every time you go to the gas station to fill your tank, the federal government charges an 18-cent tax per gallon of gas that you purchase and a 24-cent tax per gallon of diesel you purchase.”

At the same time, Biden is also asking state governments to either suspend their own gas taxes, which add another 30 cents per gallon on average, or find other ways to deliver some relief at the pump. He noted some states, including Connecticut, New York, Illinois, Colorado and Minnesota, have already done this.

The president acknowledged that a gas tax holiday alone is not going to fix the issue of skyrocketing gas and diesel prices, but it will provide “just a little breathing room” as the administration works to bring down prices long term.

However, the gas tax holiday proposal is receiving criticism on the Hill; not just from Republicans, but also from some Democrats.

In anticipation of Biden’s announcement, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), who chairs the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, called the gas tax holiday “a short-sighted proposal that relies on the cooperation of oil companies to pass on miniscule savings to consumers — the same oil companies that made record profits last year and a staggering $35 billion in the first quarter of 2022.”