Joe Biden’s call for Congress to suspend federal gasoline and diesel tax for three months was met with strong opposition to the president’s efforts to provide temporary relief to American households suffering from a high inflation.
The so-called US tax exemption proposed by the US President would mean the elimination of the federal tax rate of 18.4 cents per gallon of gasoline and the 24 cents rate on diesel that consumers pay at the pump .
The total cost of the measure would be about $ 10 billion. Biden is asking Congress to replenish the highway trust fund, which is usually funded by these taxes, with other revenue increases.
“It does not reduce all the pain, but it would be very helpful. I’m doing my part. I want Congress, states and industry to do their part too, “Biden said in a statement from the White House on Wednesday afternoon.
Some states, including New York and Florida, have taken steps to suspend their own state gas taxes and offer drivers relief from high prices. But Biden is facing a tough battle to get the measure passed at the federal level at the Capitol, as Republicans opposed it and Democrats were cold with the proposal.
“What the administration is thinking, of course, is another trick, another band-aid, and something they know is dead when they get here in Congress,” John Thune, a Republican senator from South Dakota, told reporters.
“While well-intentioned, this policy would, at best, achieve only a tiny relief while making a $ 10 billion hole in the highway trust fund,” said Peter DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat. chairman of the House Transport Committee.
Delaware Democratic Sen. Tom Carper had been even more forceful on Twitter Tuesday night. “I’m glad @POTUS is exploring ways to reduce gas prices at the pump. However, suspending the main way we pay for infrastructure projects on our roads is a short-sighted and inefficient way to alleviate. We should to explore other options to reduce energy costs, “he wrote.
Biden’s call for a petrol party celebrates the White House’s latest effort to show its determination to do everything possible to control inflation and reduce energy costs as the war drags on. Ukraine. Biden on Wednesday criticized critics who said his policies had fueled inflation, saying they did not recognize that the invasion of Russia was a major driver of rising prices.
“So for all those Republicans in Congress who criticize me today for high gasoline prices in the United States, are you now saying we were wrong to support Ukraine?” said Biden. “Are you saying we were wrong to stand up to Putin? Are you saying we’d rather have lower gas prices in America and Putin’s iron fist in Europe? I don’t think so.”
In recent months, Biden has released oil from the strategic oil reserve, pushed national energy groups to increase production, and will travel to Saudi Arabia for talks with a regime that once promised to make a “pria.”
Because gasoline costs have skyrocketed to about $ 5 a gallon, the federal tax suspension will only provide a small isolation to struggling consumers. Consumer prices rose at an annual rate of 8.6% last month, hurting Americans’ perceptions of the strength of the US recovery.
Biden considered a gas tax party in February, but decided not to. Critics have warned that the policy could be counterproductive, increasing demand and contributing to inflation, without offering significant relief to households.
Maya MacGuineas, chair of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a non-partisan think tank in Washington, said a drop in gasoline tax “would modestly reduce bomb prices but exacerbate general inflationary pressures and increase demand from a source of energy that is already short. in supply ”.
Oil executives are likely to appreciate the measure, which is a subsidy for their product. Executives from some of the top U.S. oil and fuel producers will meet with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Thursday.
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But high fuel prices have deepened tensions between Biden and oil industry executives. On Tuesday, he attacked Chevron CEO Mike Wirth after he said in a letter to the president that a “change of approach” was needed to lower prices and that the administration should not “vilify” the industry.
Biden called Wirth “sensitive” while urging the industry to increase fuel supply.