President Donald Trump said he wants to temporarily suspend the 18-cent per gallon federal gas tax to help drivers suffering from high prices at the pump, and Republicans in Congress have introduced legislation that would do just that.
"I think it's a great idea," Trump said in a telephone interview with a CBS News reporter of the plan to temporarily lift the gas tax. "Yup, we're going to take off the gas tax for a period of time, and when gas goes down, we'll let it phase back in."
The comments come as Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, said he is introducing legislation on Monday that would suspend the federal gas tax. Additionally, a pair of Democratic lawmakers in the Senate also introduced legislation on March 13 that called for the suspension of the federal gas tax until Oct. 1 in light of the nation's escalating gas prices.
"This legislation temporarily suspends the federal gas tax, lowering high gas prices squeezing consumers and bringing much needed financial relief to American families,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut who co-authored the bill.
The largest lobbying group for carmakers in Washington, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, also has recently come out in favor of a plan to eliminate the federal gas tax in favor of a new vehicle fee that would be based on the weight of cars.
