Pelosi rejects gas tax holiday
by Cristina Marcos - 03/31/22 1:37 PM ET
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday poured cold water on the idea of suspending the federal gas taxes as a way to reduce the costs of higher gas prices for consumers.
Pelosi acknowledged that the proposal, which has been floated by some Democrats in recent weeks, sounds appealing in theory. But she argued it doesn’t help consumers much in the long term since oil companies are not required to pass on the savings.
Furthermore, suspending the gas tax would take away the primary source of money for the Highway Trust Fund, which finances roads and mass transit.
“The pro is very showbiz. ‘OK, let’s just do something, there it is.’ But it is not necessarily landing in the pocket of the consumer,” Pelosi said at a press conference in the Capitol.
She suggested that measures such as rebates or direct payments to consumers would be more effective to provide Americans relief from the higher cost of gas.
“How do we help people directly? If you’re going to have to pay for it and you don’t want it to come out of the Trust Fund, something could be a rebate card or a direct payments. And those are the things that are being considered,” Pelosi said.
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https://thehill.com/news/house/3175180-pelosi-rejects-gas-tax-holiday/
