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Biden calls for 3-month suspension of gas tax but faces long odds of getting Congress on board - CNN

Biden calls for 3-month suspension of gas tax but faces long odds of getting Congress on board - CNN

Biden calls for 3-month suspension of gas tax but faces long odds of getting Congress on board - CNN
Jun 22, 2022 1 min, 58 secs

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stopped short of endorsing the plan in a statement after Biden's remarks.

But he cast the move as a way to give some relief to families as he tries to find solutions to one of his top political problems.

"By suspending the 18-cent gas tax, federal gas tax for the next 90 days, we can bring down the price of gas and give families just a little bit of relief," Biden said in a speech from the White House.

"I fully understand that a gas tax holiday alone is not going to fix the problem," he continued, "but it will provide families some immediate relief, just a little bit of breathing room as we continue working to bring down prices for the long haul."

Biden also called on states to take steps removing their own taxes on gas and diesel.

Most of the 18.4 cent reduction would be pocketed by industry -- with maybe a few cents passed on to consumers."

Senior administration officials have acknowledged that criticism, but said Biden would pressure companies to pass along the savings.

"There's no time now for profiteering," Biden said, adding later that energy companies must increase refining capacity to produce more gas for American consumers and bring down prices.

"To the companies running gas stations and setting those prices at the pump -- this is a time of war, global peril, Ukraine.

Biden has made Russia's war in Ukraine his top scapegoat for climbing gas prices but has also called out oil and gas companies, saying they aren't doing enough to bring down costs and accusing them of profiting off the war.

He repeated some of those arguments on Tuesday, saying the country needs "more refining capacity."

"This idea that they don't have oil to drill and to bring up is simply not true," he said.

In response to the President's criticisms, the oil industry has largely said that it is the Biden administration's fault that prices are so high because of what they perceive as limits on domestic oil and gas production.

Chevron CEO Mike Worth said in a letter on Tuesday that Biden should stop criticizing the oil and gas industry and called for a "change in approach" from the White House.

"Your Administration has largely sought to criticize, and at times vilify, our industry," Worth wrote in an open letter to Biden.

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