Bill to halt federal gas tax for rest of the year introduced in Congress

Idea being floated: Suspend federal gas tax

There's a growing call for lawmakers on Capitol Hill to temporarily halt the federal gas tax for the rest of the year.

There is a growing call for lawmakers on Capitol Hill to temporarily halt the federal gas tax for the rest of 2022 as a possible solution to help relieve the pain at the pump from high gas prices.

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A bill in Congress would halt the federal gas tax of 18.3 cents per gallon for the rest of the year. Congressman Andy Harris says he supports the idea.

"I think that Democrats are willing to cut taxes, even cut gas taxes, in order to try and regain some of the confidence in the American people," Rep. Harris says. "At the state level, it’s not a problem because we have a huge surplus, but at the federal level, it is a problem because this is money we’re going to have to borrow from future generations."

However, analysts from the tax foundation warn it's a short-term solution that could choke off road funding projects.

"Well there’s some tradeoffs you need to be aware of when you do something like that," says Director of The Tax Foundation Urkick Boesen. "The federal gas tax is actually collected very early in the chain, so consumers may think they pay it at the pump, but it’s paid early by refineries."

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan working on 'emergency suspension' of state gas tax

So, how much could consumers actually save? In Maryland, with a state gas tax of 36 cents, the total savings could come to 54 cents. In Virginia, the savings could come to 36 cents if the Commonwealth halts their state gas tax as Maryland moved to do last week.

Drivers who talked to FOX 5 have differing opinions on whether this could make an impact.

"My belief is that we’ll have to pay for it later that it will end up costing us later," one viewer said.

"I don’t think it would affect me too much but based on the numbers I see it’d probably help out a lot of people," said another viewer.

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President of the Maryland Senate Bill Ferguson tells FOX 5 he hopes to have Maryland's gas tax bill passed and signed by Gov. Larry Hogan soon. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin says he's working on the issues. FOX 5 has not heard from DC Mayor Muriel Bowser on this issue.