President Joe Biden raised the idea of a gas tax increase during a meeting with lawmakers only to then shoot it down, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said as she attempted to clean up what she referred to as a “garble.”
It followed reports that Biden suggested raising the tax as a way to pay for his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan.
It triggered confusion after members of his administration had already said the tax would not be raised and repeated commitments from the president that no one earning less than $400,000 would pay more.
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“I think that was a little bit of a garble — unintentional,” said Psaki when asked about the exchange a day later.
“In yesterday’s meeting with members of Congress, the president mentioned the gas tax only to make a point that even a significant increase in the gas tax, which some people have proposed, would pay for only a fraction of the investment the country needs,” she said on Tuesday.
“Fundamentally,” she said, “he does not believe that paying for this historic investment in rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure and creating millions of jobs should be on the backs of Americans.”
The misunderstanding emerged when an ABC News reporter said on Twitter that Biden was considering raising the tax by five cents, citing comments by Democratic Rep. Donald Payne.
But last month, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the administration would not be raising the gas tax or introducing a new vehicle miles traveled charge to fund the investments.
On Monday, Biden told the bipartisan group in the Oval Office that he was open to negotiating both the scope of his proposals and ways to pay for them.
“I’m prepared to negotiate as to the extent of my infrastructure project as well as how we pay for it,” he said.
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“If we can get a serious conversation about how to do that. I think everyone acknowledges we need a significant increase in infrastructure.”
Republicans are balking at the cost and say plans to increase rates of corporate taxes risk sending jobs overseas.
