President Joe Biden on Wednesday called on Congress to suspend federal gasoline and diesel taxes for three months — a move meant to ease financial pressures at the pump that also reveals the political toxicity of high gas prices in an election year.

"There are actions we can take to help American families now. We have taken them, we are taking them," Biden said from the White House. "A federal gas tax holiday, state gas tax holiday, bringing back refineries putting them back online.

"We just have to keep going," he added. "I promise you I'm doing everything possible, everything possible to bring the price of energy down, gas prices down." 

The Democratic president also called on states to suspend their own gas taxes or "find other ways to deliver some relief" to consumers at the pump, praising states like New York and Connecticut that have already taken action to pause statewide gas taxes. Colorado also recently delayed the implentation of new gas and vehicle registration fees, while Minnesota's governor proposed giving families a one-time rebate check to help pay for the cost of gas. 

"I'm calling on more states and local governments to take actions like these, thanks to our historic economic recovery, which fortified state budgets that had been hurt in the pandemic," Biden said Wednesday. "States are now in a strong position to be able to afford to take some of these actions."

At issue is the 18.4 cents-a-gallon federal tax on gas and the 24.4 cents-a-gallon federal tax on diesel fuel. If the gas savings were fully passed along to consumers, people would save roughly 3.6% at the pump when prices are averaging about $5 a gallon nationwide.

Biden on Wednesday called on production companies to "refine more oil into gasoline and to bring down gas prices" and to pass all savings on to consumers, putting much of the blame for skyrocketing gas prices on both Russia's invasion of Ukraine and greedy companies trying to make record profits. Russia is one of the world's largest oil producers and the United States blocked imports of its products soon after it invaded its neighboring country. 

"My message is simple. To the companies running gas stations, setting those prices at the pump: This is a time of war. Global peril. Ukraine. These are not normal times. Bring down the price you are charging at the pump to reflect the cost you are paying for the product. Do it now. Do it today."

But many economists and lawmakers from both parties view the idea of a gas tax holiday with skepticism, including Biden's former boss.

Barack Obama, during the 2008 presidential campaign, called the idea a “gimmick” that allowed politicians to “say that they did something.” He also warned that oil companies could offset the tax relief by increasing their prices.

A number of other prominent Democrats have expressed skepticism about suspending the gas tax, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who previously called it "very showbiz" and has expressed concerns that savings would not be passed on to consumers.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told reporters Tuesday night that the Biden administration "wants to be doing something" about the gas tax, but he has "not been a proponent" of a gas tax holiday.

"There’s no guarantee that the sellers, either wholesale or retail, will reduce their prices," Hoyer said, per Punchbowl News. "And then, of course, we’ve got to backfill [the Highway Trust Fund]. I just don’t know that it gives much relief."

Administration officials said the $10 billion cost of the gas tax holiday would be paid for and the Highway Trust Fund kept whole, even though the gas taxes make up a substantial source of revenue for the fund. Officials did not delineate any additional sources of revenue.

Biden on Wednesday detailed how the government could suspend the federal gas tax while not impacting the Highway Trust Fund, saying in part: "With the tax revenues up this year and our deficit down over $1.6 trillion this year alone, we'll still be able to fix our highways and bring down the prices of gas. We can do both at the same time." 

Delaware Sen. Tom Carper, a Biden ally, called suspending the gas tax "a shortsighted and inefficient way to provide relief" in a Twitter post.

"We should explore other options for lowering energy costs," he added.

House Ways and Means committee chair Richie Neal, D-Mass., said that he is "not committed" to the gas tax holiday and wants to see "assurance that the money is going to go to the consumer.”

"We want to see where the relief really comes, and whether it’s going to the consumers or to the [oil] companies," he told Punchbowl News. "There is no guarantee that any sort of suspension of the gas tax will be passed on to consumers."

Fellow Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern, who chairs the influential House Rules Committee, told Spectrum News in an interview that he is willing to work with the president on a gas tax holiday "provided we can get assurances from the oil companies that savings will be passed on to consumers."

"If not, then it's just a windfall for the oil companies," McGovern added, noting that he wants "to provide relief to my constituents, not more profits for the oil companies."

McGovern blamed Russia's invasion of Ukraine and oil companies for high gas prices, accusing the latter of price gouging.

"Let's be honest, oil companies are gouging people," he charged. "I mean, they right now can produce more, and they're not. They're charging more, and producing less. That's price gouging. It's unconscionable."

"Understand this: when you when you suspend the gas tax, you're taking money out of the infrastructure for him," McGovern said. "So there's a cost to this. I'm willing to work with him on that if I get an assurance that savings will be passed on to my constituents and to consumers all throughout the country."

But Republicans are placing the blame squarely on President Biden, saying in a press conference on Wednesday a potential gas tax holiday would not "treat the fundamental problem" of decreased domestic production of oil. 

"What the administration, of course, is coming up with is yet another gimmick, another Band-Aid and something they know is dead on arrival up here in Congress," Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters after the president's address. 

Biden had pushed back against those criticisms in his address, saying Republicans' claims that the U.S. is not producing enough oil are "nonsense."

"I fully understand that a gas tax holiday alone is not going to fix the problem. But it will provide families some immediate relief, a little bit of breathing room as we continue working to bring down prices for the long haul," he said, adding: "Just this month, America produced 12 million barrels of oil per day [...] That's higher than average under my predecessor. And we're on track to set a new record for production next year."

Still, high gas prices pose a fundamental threat to Biden’s electoral and policy ambitions. They’ve caused confidence in the economy to slump to lows that bode poorly for defending Democratic control of the House and the Senate in November.

Biden’s past efforts to cut gas prices — including the release of oil from the U.S. strategic reserve and greater ethanol blending this summer — have done little to produce savings at the pump, a risk that carries over to the idea of a gas tax holiday.

Biden has acknowledged how gas prices have been a drain on public enthusiasm when he is trying to convince people that the U.S. can still pivot to a clean-energy future. In an interview with The Associated Press last week, Biden described a country already nursing some psychological scars from the coronavirus pandemic that is now worried about how to afford gas, food and other essentials.

“If you notice, until gas prices started going up,” Biden said, “things were much more, they were much more optimistic.”

The president can do remarkably little to fix prices that are set by global markets, profit-driven companies, consumer demand and aftershocks from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the embargoes that followed. The underlying problem is a shortage of oil and refineries that produce gas, a challenge a tax holiday cannot necessarily fix.

Republican lawmakers have long tried to shift more blame to Biden, saying he created a hostile environment for domestic oil producers, causing their output to stay below pre-pandemic levels.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell mocked the idea of a gas tax holiday in a February floor speech. “They’ve spent an entire year waging a holy war on affordable American energy, and now they want to use a pile of taxpayers’ money to hide the consequences,” he said.

Biden has also called on energy companies to accept lower profit margins to increase oil production and refining capacity for gasoline.

This has increased tensions with oil producers: Biden has judged the companies to be making “more money than God.” That kicked off a chain of events in which the head of Chevron, Michael Wirth, sent a letter to the White House saying that the administration “has largely sought to criticize, and at times vilify, our industry.”

Asked about the letter, Biden said of Wirth: “He’s mildly sensitive. I didn’t know they’d get their feelings hurt that quickly.”

Energy companies are scheduled to meet Thursday with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to discuss ways to increase supply.