By Aamer Madhani and Josh Boak
The Associated Press
President Joe Biden said Monday that he is considering temporarily freezing the federal gas tax, a move that can save drivers up to 18.4 cents a gallon.
"Yes, I'm considering it," Biden told reporters as he strolled along the beach near his Delaware vacation home, "hopefully I'll have a data-driven decision by the end of the week."
The price of gasoline has skyrocketed since the start of 2022. David Zalubowski / AP
The government is looking for ways to ease rising gasoline prices, which began rising last year and spiked after Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
Gasoline prices across the country are just below $5 a gallon, according to the American Automobile Association, after posting their first drop since April this week.
[Average US Gas Price Hits New Record: $5 Per Gallon]
Biden said members of his administration will meet this week with directors of major oil companies to discuss rising fuel prices.
“I want an explanation for why they are not refining more oil,” said Biden, who criticized companies for making high profits while people are feeling the pressure of high costs at the pumps and inflation.
The Administration has already released oil from the US strategic reserve and increased ethanol blending for the summer, in addition to sending a letter last week to oil refiners urging them to increase their refining capacity.
However, these efforts have not yet succeeded in reducing the pressure on prices significantly, so the Government is now studying the possibility of suspending the tax on gasoline.
Taxes on gasoline and diesel help pay for the roads.
The Penn Wharton business school budget model released estimates on Wednesday showing consumers saved at the pump thanks to the temporary elimination of the gas tax in Connecticut, Georgia and Maryland.
Most of the savings went to consumers, rather than service stations and other companies in the energy sector.
In an interview on ABC 's
This Week
on Sunday , Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she was willing to temporarily eliminate the federal gas tax to relieve drivers.
Oil refiners say their capacity to produce more gasoline and diesel is limited, meaning prices could remain high unless demand starts to ease.
The American Petroleum Institute and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers sent a joint letter to Biden on Wednesday, saying refineries are already operating near full capacity and nearly half of the capacity being pulled was due to because the facilities were converted to the production of renewable fuels.
"Today's situation did not materialize overnight and will not be resolved quickly," the letter said.
"To protect and promote America's energy security and refining capacity, we urge you to take steps to encourage increased domestic energy production," including new infrastructure and reducing regulatory burdens.
Strolling along the beach with his daughter Ashley, granddaughter Naomi and his granddaughter's fiancé, Biden stopped frequently to chat with sunbathers spending the June Day federal holiday at the beach.
He took a moment to offer reassurance on inflation - the consumer price index rose to a nearly 40-year high of 8.6% in May from the same month a year earlier - and growing warnings from economists that a recession may be just around the corner.
"We're going to get through this, guys," Biden told a group of beachgoers.
Last week, the Federal Reserve stepped up its campaign to rein in inflation by raising its key interest rate by three-quarters of a point - its biggest increase in nearly three decades - and signaled more rate hikes to come.
Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" that, in his view, "the overriding probability would be that by the end of next year we would be seeing a recession in the US economy."
Biden said he spoke with Summers, who was treasury secretary in the Clinton administration, on Monday morning.
“There is nothing inevitable about a recession,” Biden said.
