Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) labeled President Joe Biden’s calls for a three-month-long suspension of federal gas and diesel taxes “shortsighted and inefficient” while others are dubbing it a gimmick and calling for Biden to ramp up domestic oil production.
“I’m glad that @POTUS is exploring ways to lower gas prices at the pump,” Carper wrote in a tweet. “Still, suspending the primary way that we pay for infrastructure projects on our roads is a shortsighted and inefficient way to provide relief.”
On Wednesday, the Biden Administration called on Congress to implement a gas tax holiday following months of unprecedented, record-breaking prices at the pump under Biden’s direction. The national gas tax sits at 18 cents per gallon, while the federal diesel tax is 24 cents per gallon. Biden himself also called “on states to either suspend the state gas tax as well or find other ways to deliver some relief.”
In a release, the White House submitted that “President Biden understands that a gas tax holiday alone will not, on its own, relieve the run-up in costs that we’ve seen,” as Breitbart News reported.
Marc Goldwein, a senior vice president and senior policy director at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, ripped the proposal as “a total gimmick” while appearing on Fox News Channel’s Special Report, adding that it will only exacerbate inflation.
“At best, this is going to reduce the inflation rate over the next three months by 0.1%,” he explained. “And then as soon as the holiday’s over, it’s actually going to make inflation even worse than if there was no holiday at all.”
House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) also slammed the idea while appearing on Fox Business Network’s Evening Edit. He emphasized that Biden was unclear about where funds will come from to supplement the Highway Trust Fund, adding:
There’s no guarantee this ends after three months. We know how gimmicky Congress can be. And you’re right, prices keep going up, so even with this tiny, temporary, little 18-cent savings, that’s going to be eaten up. You’ve got to go to the core issue, which is we’ve got to produce more, refine more, ship more here in America. And as long as he’s wed to this Green New Deal, we’re not going to see the relief.”
In its release, the Biden Administration once again laid the blame for the exorbitant price of gas and diesel on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The “President believes that at this unique moment when the war in Ukraine is imposing costs on American families, Congress should do what it can to provide working families breathing room,” White House officials said in the release.
The Administration has called the rising costs “Putin’s Price Hike” for months, and the president blamed Putin for them again Wednesday.
A Breitbart News fact check ruled the sentiment to be “false,” noting that the heightened worldwide demand and a shortage of investment capital are driving the sky-high gas prices. The void in investment capital was “caused, in part, by ESG investing, Biden’s promise to end fossil fuels, and regulators discouraging fossil fuel production,” as Breitbart News noted.
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