Biden calls for three-month federal gas tax "holiday"

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Associated Press, via CBS

POLITICS

Biden calls for three-month federal gas tax "holiday"

UPDATED ON: JUNE 22, 2022 / 11:09 AM / CBS/AP

Washington — President Joe Biden called on Congress Wednesday to suspend federal gasoline and diesel taxes for three months — an idea that's intended to ease financial pressures at the pump, but that also reveals the political toxicity of high gas prices in an election year.

He is also urging states to suspend their own gas taxes or provide similar relief, the White House said.

The White House said in a release, "The price of gas is up dramatically around the world, and by almost $2 per gallon in America, since (Russian President Vladimir) Putin began amassing troops on the border of Ukraine."

{snip}

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gax-tax-holiday-biden-three-months-congress/

[NCjack]

1. We need those revenues for contruction and maintenance. Should increase

taxes on oil and refinery cash flow and top 5% of income.

[BumRushDaShow]

16. "We need those revenues for contruction and maintenance."

Why has this been forgotten ($1.2 trillion), and yes it is a law?

President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law


Congress pass­ed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act), a once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s infrastructure and competitiveness. For far too long, Washington policymakers have celebrated “infrastructure week” without ever agreeing to build infrastructure. The President promised to work across the aisle to deliver results and rebuild our crumbling infrastructure. After the President put forward his plan to do exactly that and then negotiated a deal with Members of Congress from both parties, this historic legislation is moving to his desk for signature.

This Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will rebuild America’s roads, bridges and rails, expand access to clean drinking water, ensure every American has access to high-speed internet, tackle the climate crisis, advance environmental justice, and invest in communities that have too often been left behind. The legislation will help ease inflationary pressures and strengthen supply chains by making long overdue improvements for our nation’s ports, airports, rail, and roads. It will drive the creation of good-paying union jobs and grow the economy sustainably and equitably so that everyone gets ahead for decades to come. Combined with the President’s Build Back Framework, it will add on average 1.5 million jobs per year for the next 10 years.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/bipartisan-infrastructure-law/

H.R.3684 - Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act 117th Congress (2021-2022)

Sponsor: Rep. DeFazio, Peter A. [D-OR-4] (Introduced 06/04/2021)
Committees: House - Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee Meetings: 03/15/22 2:30PM 06/09/21 10:00AM
Committee Reports: H. Rept. 117-70; H. Rept. 117-70,Part 2
Committee Prints: H.Prt. 117-8, H.Prt. 117-9
Latest Action: 11/15/2021 Became Public Law No: 117-58. (TXT | PDF) (All Actions)
Roll Call Votes: There have been 35 roll call votes
Tracker: This bill has the status Became Law

(snip)

Summary: H.R.3684 — 117th Congress (2021-2022)
All Information (Except Text)
There are 3 summaries for H.R.3684.

Bill summaries are authored by CRS.
Shown Here:
Public Law No: 117-58 (11/15/2021)

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

Among other provisions, this bill provides new funding for infrastructure projects, including for

roads, bridges, and major projects;

passenger and freight rail;

highway and pedestrian safety;

public transit;

broadband;

ports and waterways;

airports;

water infrastructure;

power and grid reliability and resiliency;

resiliency, including funding for coastal resiliency, ecosystem restoration, and weatherization;

clean school buses and ferries;

electric vehicle charging;

addressing legacy pollution by cleaning up Brownfield and Superfund sites and reclaiming abandoned mines; and

Western Water Infrastructure.

(snip)

https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3684

Maybe because there were so many iterations of bills flying at the same time and people lost track (especially the "Build Back Better" that got shunted aside with the BIB being the final result for now)?

[Gore1FL]

2. I'd like this more if it were coupled with a windfall profit tax to compensate.

Otherwise, it is sort of a back-door tax cut for the oil producers.

[rurallib]

5. Amen!

[peppertree]

9. +1

What's more, Big Awl is sure to raise prices to offset any savings from the tax holiday.

We'd pay the same (or almost) - and they'd pocket the difference.

[Rebl2]

18. Yep again

[Rebl2]

17. Yep

[Marthe48]

4. Agree

If there is a tax holiday, oil companies will just jack up the prices. Thank you Pres. Biden, for thinking of Americans when corporations won't.

[IronLionZion]

6. We should consider nationalization of oil refineries

[TheFarseer]

20. I was just reading that there are some refineries

That are shut down and need hundreds of millions to get back up and running. I wonder if it would be possible to buy them and get them back up under government control if private companies are unwilling to do it?

[IronLionZion]

28. The problem is nobody wants it

The people who live nearby don't want it. They can't find enough workers. Democrats would like us to wean ourselves off of oil gradually. So nobody is really interested in spending the money to get them up and running. It's a global problem with refineries shut down all over the major oil countries.

[IronLionZion]

34. They don't have enough workers

[IronLionZion]

38. That was drilling, not refineries

Companies didn't invest in building refineries up there so they pipe it across the country down to the gulf coast.

[manicdem]

35. Less refineries now

If refineries were nationalized in the past, then we'd be in a worse off position now. We would've shut down refineries due to climate change.

[IronLionZion]

36. It was sarcasm, to see if Repub heads explode

Just the suggestion should be enough to make them really mad

[rurallib]

7. One thought that struck me is that once gone, it will be nearly impossible

to reinstate. These funds are really needed for highway maintenance and they aren't piddling amounts.

You can almost hear the screams already from the Trump party when the taxes come back.

No, no no just leave it alone

[BumRushDaShow]

25. See this

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=2933212

Summary -

President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law


Congress pass­ed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act), a once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s infrastructure and competitiveness. For far too long, Washington policymakers have celebrated “infrastructure week” without ever agreeing to build infrastructure. The President promised to work across the aisle to deliver results and rebuild our crumbling infrastructure. After the President put forward his plan to do exactly that and then negotiated a deal with Members of Congress from both parties, this historic legislation is moving to his desk for signature.

This Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will rebuild America’s roads, bridges and rails, expand access to clean drinking water, ensure every American has access to high-speed internet, tackle the climate crisis, advance environmental justice, and invest in communities that have too often been left behind. The legislation will help ease inflationary pressures and strengthen supply chains by making long overdue improvements for our nation’s ports, airports, rail, and roads. It will drive the creation of good-paying union jobs and grow the economy sustainably and equitably so that everyone gets ahead for decades to come. Combined with the President’s Build Back Framework, it will add on average 1.5 million jobs per year for the next 10 years.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/bipartisan-infrastructure-law/

That law has $1.2 trillion in spending (with $500 billion of it new) where a good chunk is going to the same things that the gas tax was designated for. Use THIS Infrastructure money for that purpose, which it was designed for (and from what I understand, the "holiday" would be temporary anyway and Congress could put some strings on it - assuming it can even get 10 votes in the Senate for cloture).

[Timewas]

8. Sad attempt

T appease the masses while kissing big oil's ass.. A token move that will actually save me about $1.80 a week...It is a joke.. and not really funny

[JustAnotherGen]

10. I disagree with him on this

[inwiththenew]

11. Bad idea

The little amount saved is not going to move the needle for the average voter. Plus there is nothing that will stop them from raising the price and pocketing the difference. It also creates a funding shortfall that will be a big problem down the line.

[sybylla]

12. OMG. NO. Terrible idea.

As if $.18 per gallon is going to make difference. Then once it kicks back in and prices rise by $.18 or more, everyone will be pointing fingers at Biden/Dems just in time for election day.

Also, we need those dollars for infrastructure. WTH?

This should only happen as a trade for a Windfall Profit Tax on gas and utility companies.

[Rebl2]

21. You are absolutely right!

[BumRushDaShow]

13. Was waiting for his presser but here is the "Fact Sheet"

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/06/22/fact-sheet-president-biden-calls-for-a-three-month-federal-gas-tax-holiday/

FACT SHEET: President Biden Calls for a Three-Month Federal Gas Tax Holiday

June 22, 2022 • Statements and Releases

The price of gas is up dramatically around the world, and by almost $2 per gallon in America, since Putin began amassing troops on the border of Ukraine. President Biden understands that high gas prices pose a significant challenge for working families. That’s why he has taken action in recent months to boost the supply of oil and gas, including an historic release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and encouraging oil companies and refiners to boost capacity and output to get more supply on the market.

Today, he is calling on Congress and states to take additional legislative action to provide direct relief to American consumers who have been hit with Putin’s Price Hike. Specifically, he is calling on Congress to suspend the federal gas tax for three months, through September, without taking any money away from the Highway Trust Fund. And he is calling on states to take similar action to provide some direct relief, whether suspending their own gas taxes or helping consumers in other ways.

Federal Gas Tax Holiday

Right now, the federal government charges an 18 cent tax per gallon of gasoline and a 24 cent tax per gallon of diesel. Those taxes fund critical highways and public transportation, through the Highway Trust Fund. But in this unique moment, with gas prices near $5 a gallon on average across the country, President Biden is calling on Congress to suspend the gas tax for three months – until the end of September – to give Americans a little extra breathing room as they deal with the effects of Putin’s war in Ukraine.

The President is also calling on Congress to make sure that a gas tax holiday has no negative effect on the Highway Trust Fund. With our deficit already down by a historic $1.6 trillion this year, the President believes that we can afford to suspend the gas tax to help consumers while using other revenues to make the Highway Trust Fund whole for the roughly $10 billion cost. This is consistent with legislation proposed in the Senate and the House to advance a responsible gas tax holiday.

President Biden understands that a gas tax holiday alone will not, on its own, relieve the run up in costs that we’ve seen. But 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.

State and Local Action

In addition to federal gas tax relief, the President is calling on state and local governments to provide additional consumer relief. Already, some states and local governments have acted: for example, in Connecticut and New York, governors temporarily suspended their gas taxes, and in Illinois and Colorado, governors delayed planned tax and fee increases. And, around the country, in states like Michigan and Minnesota, states and local leaders are considering a number of forms of consumer relief – from temporary suspensions and pauses on state sales tax on gas to consumer rebates and relief payments. The President believes more states and local governments should do so.

Ongoing Actions to Blunt the Impact of the Putin Price Hike

Today’s announcements follow a series of actions the President has taken to lower gas prices for American families.

The President announced the release of a record 1 million barrels per day from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which just last week a leading oil market analyst confirmed has been critical to keeping prices from rising even more.

He rallied international partners to join us, releasing a combined 240 million barrels of oil on the market.

He expanded access to biofuels like E15—gasoline that uses a 15 percent ethanol blend—to increase supply and lower prices at thousands of gas stations across the country.

He and his Administration are engaging with oil and refining companies to ask them to work with the Administration to bring forward concrete solutions that increase refinery capacity and output. Secretary Granholm is meeting with these CEOs this week.

Already, the United States produced more oil under the first year of this Administration than it did under the first two years of the prior Administration, and is on track to set new records next year. At the same time, the President understands that our efforts to increase energy production in the near-term must be coupled with medium- and long-term efforts to transition our economy away from fossil fuels produced by autocrats and to clean energy.

###

[Fiendish Thingy]

14. Surprisingly, I'm with Manchin in opposing this idea

It’s a craven attempt to boost Biden and Dems approval going into the midterms.

If you want to be craven, forgive student debt to the maximum allowed.

Biden should use his bully pulpit to decrie oil companies’ gouging of consumers, as should all Dems.

[867-5309.]

32. Biden has used his bully pulpit on this issue

but as far as this idea, I don't like it either.

[Bayard]

15. Not the best solution

Which is whack the oil companies for their insane profits, and take away their government subsidies.

How about going back to most people working from home? That saved a bunch of gas, and helped the planet.

[Miguelito Loveless]

19. This is political malpractice/suicide

Cut 18¢ per gallon now, then get an 18¢ spike right before the November elections? Also, oil companies will simply raise the price to shovel the cut into their pockets.

What is he thinking?

[NullTuples]

23. Reward the oil corps & starve the government is NOT a traditional Democratic value...

[NullTuples]

22. Tax holidays reward gas producers while starving the gov't - we need industry regulation

Hell, Joe - use emergency powers if you need to.

[Rebl2]

24. I wrote my

Congress person this morning and voiced my opposition to this. It’s a bad idea. Then price goes back up right before fall election.

[bucolic_frolic]

26. Windfall profits tax

There were reasons it was implemented. Similar to today.

[doc03]

27. Bad idea we need roads and he will get acussed of

raising the gas tax in 3 months. Dumb idea.

[twodogsbarking]

29. The more you drive the more you save.

[I_have_a_cat_bite]

30. feels bad man

Relieving student debt is bad but tax holidays for consuming gas is good. Got it. We're never going to get real leadership on ending our destructive dependency on gas. All we get are weasel words about how meeting with Khashoggi's killer and being in the same room are entirely different things. We went from a promise to hold MBS accountable to groveling in Saudi for more oil in just a few years. Like I said, feels bad.

[dalton99a]

33. Horrible idea

[G_j]

40. ugh..

not a smart move

[pfitz59]

41. Convene windfall profits hearing

Tell the world what the energy company executives and investors make in compensation. Institute a 'maximum' wage law. Or else, just declare an emergency and nationalize oil and gas production.