With gas prices topping $4 per gallon at the pump (AAA reports that the national average is $4.108 as of today), drivers are increasingly focused on higher prices. So are some members of Congress. Congressman Brendan F. Boyle (D-PA) thinks he has a solution: Lower the federal gas tax.

The federal gas tax currently stands at 18.4 cents per gallon (24.3 cents per gallon for diesel), a rate that hasn't changed since 1993.

Boyle, the Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee and a member of the Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over federal tax policy, would change that—sort of. He has introduced the Gas Price Relief Act, which would suspend the current federal gas tax whenever the national average price of gas exceeds $4 per gallon, reducing or eliminating the tax depending on how high prices rise to provide immediate relief at the pump.

To avoid a funding gap in the Highway Trust Fund, Boyle’s proposal would offset the lost revenue by redirecting roughly $30 billion in existing federal subsidies currently going to oil and gas companies—including those as a result of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)—into the fund.

The proposal is new, but Boyle is optimistic. When asked whether his Republican colleagues, who hold a majority in the House, might support it, Boyle said, “Well, I don't think the oil and gas companies that they tend to serve would be entirely enthusiastic, but here is a time, especially when they're facing what looks like a difficult re-election, that they could deliver a real tax [break] to working Americans, I am hopeful that you will see some Republicans join my effort.”

In addition to federal gas taxes, most states impose their own gas taxes.

According to data from the Tax Foundation, the highest gas tax in the country can be found in California at 70.9 cents per gallon, followed by Illinois (66.4 cents per gallon) and Washington (59.0 cents per gallon). The lowest gas tax rates can be found in Alaska (8.95 cents per gallon), Hawaii (18.5 cents per gallon), and New Mexico (18.9 cents per gallon).

(Those figures don’t include certain gross receipts taxes, some local taxes, or special programs such as cap-and-trade carbon policies or low-carbon fuel standards.)

Since state gas taxes in most states are higher than the federal gas tax, a number of states are also weighing temporary gas holidays as fuel prices rise.

Some have already acted. Georgia’s Governor Brian Kemp signed HB 1199, which immediately suspended the state's motor fuel excise tax (roughly $0.33 per gallon) through May 19, 2026, while Indiana Governor Mike Braun has signed an executive order suspending the state’s 7% sales tax on gasoline until May 8, 2026.........

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