Biden’s Gas Tax Holiday Won’t Deliver Much Relief

As President
Joe Biden
calls for a pause in the federal gasoline tax, he is facing skepticism that the measure would provide substantial improvement for people at the pump.At 18.4 cents per gallon, halting the federal
gas tax
would take a small bite out of
soaring prices
, which have reached $5 per gallon in recent weeks. The White House had considered a tax holiday in February as gasoline prices rose to nearly $3.50 per gallon before shelving the idea.
BIDEN BUCKS RECESSION FEARS
But with prices soaring further, Biden is now eyeing a temporary three-month pause in the tax, calling on
Congress
and
states
to suspend their levies. Senior administration officials previewed the Wednesday decision as the latest effort to “blunt the impact of Putin’s price hike” ahead of the summer driving season.The official said combined actions by the federal government, states, the
energy
industry, and retailers “could drop prices at the pump by up to $1 a gallon or more.”Asked to account for the $1 deduction, the official said it is “not meant to be overly precise,” adding that Biden “won’t speak to it as a precise figure.”“The idea is to give a sense of the magnitude of the relief that could be provided if people heeded all of the president’s calls to action,” she said.Biden’s press secretary dismissed skepticism of the tax holiday as a “gimmick,” as Barack Obama called it while running for president in 2008. Speaking to reporters Tuesday,
Karine Jean-Pierre
said Biden was simply answering reporters when he said over the weekend that the tax holiday was back on the table.“He was asked a question yesterday, and he answered it,” Jean-Pierr …