Save for later Print Download Share LinkedIn Twitter US President Joe Biden will push lawmakers for a three-month break in the nationwide gas tax as the White House attempts to bring down politically-sensitive prices at the pump for US consumers. A senior administration official said the effort will also "call on states to either suspend their gas taxes or provide the equivalent consumer relief in other ways.” But federal tax relief will take an act of Congress — no small measure in a divided legislature where energy issues have been fraught. The administration is already in the midst of a nearly 1 million b/d release of strategic stocks, and has authorized the sale of gasoline with a higher ethanol content in an effort to put downward pressure on retail prices. Easing the federal tax — 18.4¢/gallon for gasoline and 24.4¢/gallon for diesel — will create a gap in the Highway Trust Fund. Biden will propose that Congress use a fiscal surplus to cover the estimated $10 billion gap. The White House has a challenging relationship with the oil industry. Oil executives have consistently pointed the finger at the administration and its focus on climate issues for high prices. "Your administration has largely sought to criticize, and at times vilify, our industry," Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said in a published letter addressed to Biden.
