US President Joe Biden will head to Congress on Wednesday to ask lawmakers to suspend a federal tax on skyrocketing fuel prices for three months, a few months before the midterm elections.
Senior administration officials said the White House wants to suspend the federal tax of 18 cents per gallon (3.78 liters) until September and is calling on states that also levy fuel duties at stations to do the same “in order to ease the burden directly on American consumers.” .
Biden is expected to make an official announcement at the White House at 18:00 GMT.
Congress is not expected to approve such a measure.
The average price of a gallon of gasoline reached a record level of $5 in the United States ($4,968 Wednesday), compared to about $3 a year ago, and this rise is reflected in the national economy, which has led to the decline of the US president’s popularity to less than 40%.
The officials said the president understands the huge challenge posed by high gasoline prices to working families while the price of gasoline has skyrocketed worldwide by nearly $2 a gallon since Putin massed his forces at Ukraine’s border.
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