US Lawmakers Push 90-Day to 18-Month Gas Tax Holiday as $4.52 Pump Prices Squeeze Drivers
Updated
Updated · abcnews.com · May 11
US Lawmakers Push 90-Day to 18-Month Gas Tax Holiday as $4.52 Pump Prices Squeeze Drivers
4 articles · Updated · abcnews.com · May 11
Republican lawmakers moved Monday to turn Trump’s gas-tax call into legislation, with Sen. Josh Hawley proposing a 90-day suspension extendable another 90 days and Rep. Jeff Van Drew offering an 18-month pause.
AAA put the national average gasoline price at $4.52 a gallon, up more than $1.50 since Feb. 28, as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively shut and blocks about 20 million barrels of oil a day.
Congress would have to approve any holiday, and leaders signaled uncertainty rather than backing: John Thune said he has not been a fan, while Chuck Schumer argued ending the Iran conflict would do more than shaving off a few cents.
The federal levy now stands at 18.4 cents a gallon for gasoline and 24.4 cents for diesel, and a five-month suspension would drain about $17 billion from the Highway Trust Fund, which the CBO says could run short by 2028.
Gas-tax relief has drawn bipartisan interest, but Congress has never suspended the levy since it was created in 1932, leaving the latest push politically risky ahead of the midterms.
With global oil routes blocked, can domestic tax cuts truly lower prices, or is diplomacy the only real answer?
Could redirecting existing oil subsidies to road funding provide a more permanent solution than a temporary gas tax holiday?