President Joe Biden will ask to pause the gas tax. What does that mean for Arizonans?

President Joe Biden is expected to ask Congress on Wednesday to suspend the federal gas tax for three months in an effort to ease Americans' pain at the pump.

The move, reported by the New York Times, is similar to legislative proposals originally filed in February by Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Rep. Tom O'Halleran, D-Ariz., and comes after months of historic inflation has pushed up prices, especially on gas.

The tax adds about 18 cents per gallon to the cost of gas. AAA reported the average price of gas at $4.97 per gallon. In Arizona, it was $5.37.

Gas prices have dipped about 5 cents per gallon over the past week, AAA reported, but that is believed to be because of falling oil prices amid growing fears of a recession.

'We are trying to help people': Phoenix gas station owners slash prices to help drivers

Inflation is the worst in decades

Worldwide economic tumult — stemming from inconsistent supply chains and the Russian war in Ukraine — and a sizable pandemic-led cash infusion from Congress to Americans have contributed to the worst inflation in decades.

Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve announced the steepest rate hike to its benchmark lending rate since 1994 in an effort to make clear its determination to bring down inflation.

Meanwhile, consumers are facing sharply higher mortgage rates and investors are seeing dizzying declines in the stock market.

How Congress would fix gas prices

“I’m so pleased to see the president adopt my plan to suspend the federal gas tax ... to provide hardworking families with relief at the pump,” O’Halleran said in a written statement.

“Arizonans in our district drive more than most to get to school, work and the doctor, some traveling over 100 miles a day," he said. "This gas tax suspension will put money directly back into their pockets, lower shipping costs and help address inflation."

The bills by Kelly and O’Halleran would require the Treasury Department to transfer funding to the Highway Trust Fund and the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund to preserve cash for American roads.

“Arizonans are paying some of the highest prices for gas we have seen in years and it’s putting a strain on families who need to fill up the tank to get to work and school,” Kelly said at the time when he unveiled his bill.

The bills also note that Congress wants consumers to immediately see lower prices from the suspension of the federal tax.

There are competing proposals from Republicans and other Democrats to achieve the same goal of cutting gas prices.

Biden told reporters earlier this week that he was weighing suspending the tax, which comes days after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen indicated her openness it.

"That's an idea that's certainly worth considering," she said during an appearance Sunday on ABC's "This Week."

Critics: Halting tax may have big consequences

Not everyone is fully on board with halting the tax that helps fund national highways and other infrastructure.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., warned in a recent letter to Biden of “severe unintended consequences” for infrastructure from such a move, according to the Hill newspaper.

“While there is undoubtedly a need to provide American consumers relief from spiking costs, there is no guarantee a gas tax suspension would reduce prices at the pump or stem the broader inflation affecting the global economy, and it may only increase oil companies’ bottom lines,” he wrote.

'We are trying to help people': Phoenix gas station owners slash prices to help drivers

Gas prices are more than an economic pain, they could be a political millstone on Democrats in November. Biden's approval rating has fallen below 40%, according to polling averages tracked by FiveThirtyEight.com.

O'Halleran and Kelly, meanwhile, are running in two of the more visible battles Democrats face in trying to hold their narrow majorities in Congress.

O'Halleran is running for a fourth term in a district more favorable for Republicans and he is considered by some as the most vulnerable House incumbent in the country.

Likewise, Kelly is trying to win re-election in a state where Democrats struggled for decades before beating former Sen. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., in successive elections to win both Senate seats. Biden's flagging fortunes aren't helping Kelly's case to voters.

Biden is scheduled to speak on the measure Wednesday at 11 a.m. Arizona time.

Reach the reporter Ronald J. Hansen at ronald.hansen@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4493. Follow him on Twitter @ronaldjhansen.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: President Joe Biden to ask to pause gas tax: What to know