Biden will call on Congress to pause gas tax for 3 months

President Biden will ask Congress on Wednesday to suspend the federal gas tax until September as Americans across the country grapple with soaring prices as the pump.

The president will urge members of Congress to institute a three-month federal gas tax holiday without stripping money from the Highway Trust Fund that finances highways and mass transit.

"I want to be very clear, the president is calling on Congress to take this step to help American families without harming the Highway Trust Fund, which is funded by these taxes," a senior administration official said Tuesday evening.

The official suggested that the federal government's budget deficit shrinking by $1.6 trillion this year gives the U.S. leeway to suspend the gas tax while using other revenues to make the Highway Trust Fund whole for the roughly $10 billion cost.