What US Congress says about Joe Biden’s ‘Gas Tax Holiday’

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday proposed a “Gas Tax Holiday”, which is a three-month-long suspension of federal gas and diesel taxes. While it has been advertised as a step to counter increasing gas prices, it would need approval from the US Congress.

Since the plan was announced on Wednesday afternoon, top Senators and Representatives have given mixed reactions to the plan. Even Democratic Speaker of House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi gave a carefully worded statement.

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“We will see where the consensus lies on a path forward for the president’s proposal in the House and the Senate”, Pelosi said. She is the top democratic vote in the lower legislative house.

Still, the “Gas Tax Holiday” plan of Joe Biden might just cross the US House of Representatives, where Democrats hold a majority. Things would not be so easy in the US Senate. The upper legislative house is divided 50-50, and Democrats Joe Manchin and Kristen Sinema have earned the reputation of being key holdouts.

House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s chairman Peter DeFazio said he opposes the tax suspension in part because it provides minuscule relief and could become permanent.

“You know what happens in this town: you suspend the tax, it is gone forever”, Representative Peter DeFazio said in a statement.

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Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, meanwhile, mocked the gas tax holiday as an “ineffective stunt,” while Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, called it a “political band-aid” that would do little to lower costs at the gas pump.

Steny Hoyer, the Democratic House majority leader, drew inspiration from Pelosi’s statements. The Maryland lawmaker said he was unsure if Democrats have the votes to pass it. “We have not counted, so we do not know yet.″