U.S. gas tax holiday is "worth considering," Yellen says
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A federal gas tax holiday to ameliorate the burden of soaring gas prices across the nation is an idea "certainly worth considering," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday.
Driving the news: The national average price for regular gasoline spiked to a never-before-seen $5 per gallon this month as the country grapples with decades-high inflation.
What they're saying: Asked by host George Stephanopoulos whether a gas tax holiday was a possible short-term solution, Yellen replied, "President Biden wants to do anything he possibly can to help consumers. Gas prices have risen a great deal and it's clearly burdening households."
- "So he stands ready to work with Congress and that's an idea that certainly worth considering," she added.
- Yellen called the current rate of inflation "unacceptably high" but echoed Biden's assessment of a potential recession by saying "I don't think a recession is inevitable."
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday that a gas tax pause is an option the Biden administration is considering to bring down prices.
The big picture: A number of governors and state lawmakers across the country made moves this spring to grant gas tax breaks in the face of the soaring prices, with several governors calling on Congress to support a bill that would suspend the federal gas tax — 18.4 cents per gallon — for the rest of the year, Axios' Shawna Chen writes.
Editor's note: This post was updated with a comment from Jennifer Granholm.
