President Joe Biden asked Congress to suspend the federal per-gallon gas tax Wednesday, a move former President Barack Obama criticized sharply while campaigning in 2008.
Biden asked legislators to pause the federal tax for three months to relieve the pressure of rising gas prices, according to a Wednesday statement from the White House. The measure is unlikely to make it through Congress, according to Politico. (RELATED: Billionaire CEO Says Fuel Rationing May Be Around the Corner)
In 2008, Obama called federal gas tax suspensions “gimmicks” during a campaign speech. “For us to suggest that 30 cents a day for three months is real relief, that that’s a real energy policy, means that we are not tackling the problem that has to be tackled.”
The federal per-gallon excise tax for regular gas is 18 cents, and 24 cents per-gallon of diesel, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Biden at the White House earlier this week. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Biden’s latest attempt to stave off a developing energy crisis comes as his administration spars with the fossil fuel industry and continues to stonewall new federal oil and gas leasing. (RELATED: Biden Admin Quietly Nukes Trump-Era ‘Transparency’ Initiative Tracking Settlements And Payouts To Left-Wing Activists)
Biden also called on state governors and officials to suspend their excise taxes on gas.