crs_reports: R48948

Congressional Research Service reports with summaries, authors, and topic classifications.

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id title publish_date update_date status content_type authors topics summary pdf_url html_url
R48948 Suspension of the Federal Gas Tax: In Brief 2026-05-15T04:00:00Z 2026-05-16T04:53:50Z Active Reports Ali E. Lohman   In May 2026, the average price of a gallon of gasoline for U.S. consumers had increased more than $1.50 compared with the price in February 2026. President Trump and multiple Members of Congress have proposed suspending the federal excise tax on gasoline as a way to potentially offset this price increase. The gas tax rate is established in statute by Congress. While some Members of Congress have previously proposed suspending the gas tax, no such law has ever been enacted. Reducing the price of gas by 18.4 cents per gallon could provide some relief to consumers. Suspending the gas tax may not reduce consumer prices by exactly 18.4 cents per gallon. Gasoline suppliers, distributers, refiners, and blenders could choose to reduce prices by more or less than 18.4 cents per gallon or not reduce prices at all. Suspending the gas tax may not reduce consumer prices by exactly 18.4 cents per gallon. Gasoline suppliers, distributers, refiners, and blenders could choose to reduce prices by more or less than 18.4 cents per gallon or not reduce prices at all. The gas tax is the primary source of revenue for the federal Highway Trust Fund. The Congressional Budget Office projects that the balance in the Highway Trust Fund’s two accounts, the mass transit and the highway account, will approach zero in FY2027 and FY2028 respectively, which could delay reimbursements to state and local governments for work completed on federally-funded transportation projects and delay initiation of new transportation projects. Suspending the gas tax could cause the balances in the mass transit account and highway account to approach zero sooner. If, as in some current proposals in the 119th Congress, this reduction in revenue were coupled with a general fund transfer, this reduction would not affect the health of the Highway Trust Fund, but it would increase the budget deficit. The gas tax is also the primary source of revenue for the Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) Trust Fund, which helps the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and states cover costs of responding to leaking underground petroleum storage tanks in cases where the owner or operator does not clean up a site. In the United States, these leaking tanks have been a leading source of groundwater contamination and a threat to public drinking water. If the LUST Trust Fund were to not receive funding from the federal gas tax the remaining balance would be depleted over time. A general fund transfer to the LUST Trust Fund would enable continued petroleum tank cleanups and other activities to protect groundwater, but would increase the budget deficit. Key words: gasoline, gasoline tax, gas tax, fuel tax, Highway Trust Fund, Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/R/PDF/R48948/R48948.1.pdf https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/R/HTML/R48948.html

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