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Americans are desperate for relief from sky-high gas prices.
According to a Politico/Morning Consult poll out Wednesday, 73% support suspending the federal gas tax to ease their pain at the pump, while 72% back doing the same to state fuel taxes.
The desire cuts across all political persuasions, with 77% of Republicans, 75% of Democrats and 67% of independents calling for a suspension.
When asked about other means to cut the cost of filling their tank, 64% of Americans say more oil should be released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, 72% back asking US oil producers to pump more, and 56% support opening up federal lands for drilling.
Maryland and Georgia have already enacted temporary suspensions of their state gas taxes as the summer driving season approaches.
The federal gas tax has stood at 18.4 cents a gallon since 1993, but state taxes range from a high of 57.6 cents in Pennsylvania to a low of 8 cents in Alaska, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
The average price of a gallon of gas nationwide stood at $4.23 Wednesday, slightly below the record of $4.33 reached on March 11, according to AAA.
Despite the slight drop, that average is still 72 cents more than prices a month ago and $1.37 more than a year ago.
When adjusted for inflation, gas prices are at their highest levels since 2014, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
President Biden has blamed the spike on Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and said earlier this month that he “can’t do much” about prices after signing an executive order banning Russian oil imports — suggesting the situation will only get worse.
“They’re going to go up,” Biden said in response to a reporter’s question on March 8.
Wednesday’s poll, which put Biden’s job disapproval rating at 55% and his approval rating at 42%, showed that 51% of Americans “somewhat” or “strongly” disapprove of how he’s handling energy issues.
When asked what would motivate them to vote in this year’s midterm elections, 40% chose economic issues like taxes, wages, jobs and spending.
Security issues like terrorism and foreign policy came in a distant second with 16%, followed by heath care and senior issues at 10% each.
Energy issues — including carbon emissions and the cost of electricity/gasoline — got 9%.
If a House election were held today, the poll found that 42% would vote for the Democratic candidate, while 41% would select the Republican.
The poll surveyed 2,005 registered voters between March 18 and 21 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
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