几个月来，高昂的油价一直困扰着美国人。一加仑汽油的全国平均价格低于令人瞠目的每加仑5美元，AAA数据显示。
但一项重大的政策变化可能很快会让司机们松一口气。总统乔·拜登周三呼吁国会通过将持续到九月底的汽油税假期。
专家告诉ABC新闻，暂停联邦汽油税，相当于每加仑18.4美分，几乎会立即降低司机在加油站支付的价格。但他们警告称，该政策将削减道路和高速公路的维护资金，同时可能加剧供需失衡，并在长期内推高价格。
“作为一名驾车者，我会接受任何我能得到的降价，”GasBuddy的能源分析师帕特里克·德哈恩说。“作为一名分析师，我认为这可能会加剧失衡，进而导致价格上涨。”
1932年首次征收的每加仑1美分的联邦汽油税构成了司机在加油站看到的价格的一部分。该税在颁布后的几十年里逐渐增加，在1993年达到目前每加仑18.4美分的水平。自1997年以来，联邦汽油税的所有收入都进入了高速公路信托基金，这是联邦政府为高速公路、道路和桥梁提供资金的主要来源。
更多:为什么降低油价没那么简单
联邦汽油税从未暂停，尽管总统候选人约翰·麦凯恩和希拉里·克林顿在2008年竞选期间提出了汽油税假期。
汽油税假期如何运作?
联邦汽油税假期需要国会通过一项法律并由拜登签署，该假期将暂时停止征税。拜登周三提出的建议要求暂停到9月份。
由民主党和共和党州长领导的几个州已经暂停征收汽油税，作为给司机提供一些财政救济的手段。拜登周三呼吁各州暂停征收汽油税，如果他们还没有这样做的话。
但是这些举措仅仅降低了价格的一小部分。例如，在纽约，州长凯西·霍楚尔本月被停职每加仑16美分的税。根据美国汽车协会的数据，纽约每加仑汽油的平均价格为5美元，减税相当于降低了3.2%的成本。
暂停征收联邦汽油税也只能将每加仑5美元的汽油价格降低不到5%。尽管如此，消费者可能更愿意看到一些缓解，而不是没有缓解。
拜登周三表示:“我完全理解，仅靠汽油税假期无法解决问题。”。“但这将为家庭提供一些即时的缓解，只是在我们继续努力长期降低价格时的一点喘息空间。”
联邦汽油税假期有两个主要的潜在负面影响。首先，它将剥夺联邦政府维护道路和高速公路的主要资金来源。美国道路在去年获得了D级美国土木工程师协会的一份报告。专家表示，取消联邦汽油税可能会让他们的情况变得更糟。
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其次，由于美国正在努力应对低石油供应和高需求之间的不平衡，联邦天然气税假期将在一定程度上削弱价格上涨在降低消费者需求方面的作用。理论上，如果天然气价格居高不下或更高，人们会减少购买天然气，这应有助于实现供需平衡，从而降低价格。
更多:天然气价格在快速上涨后达到5美元的全国平均水平
但GasBuddy的能源分析师德哈恩表示，汽油税假期几乎会立即降低价格，这可能会增加需求，进一步恶化供需平衡。
他表示:“在目前炼油商难以满足需求的情况下，这可能会导致需求的大幅波动。”。
接下来会发生什么?
拜登对联邦汽油税假期的支持可能会推动国会通过一项法律来实施它。但这一措施能否通过仍不确定。
一个这样的法律天然气价格减免法案由民主党参议员马克·凯利提出。该法案将在年底前取消汽油税，并明确规定节省下来的价格应该转嫁给消费者。
除了凯利，还有七名参议员支持该法案。到目前为止，还没有共和党参议员支持它。
What is a gas tax holiday? The federal proposal could offer short-term relief for drivers
For months, sky-high gas prices have bedeviled Americans. The nationwide average price for a gallon of gas stands just under an eye-popping $5 per gallon, AAA data shows.
But a significant policy change may soon offer drivers some relief. President Joe Biden on Wednesday called on Congress to pass a gas tax holiday that would run through the end of September.
Suspending the federal gas tax, which amounts to 18.4 cents per gallon, would almost immediately reduce the price drivers pay at the pump, experts told ABC News. But they cautioned that the policy would slash funds for maintaining roads and highways, while potentially worsening a supply-demand imbalance and pushing prices even higher in the long term.
“As a motorist, I’ll take any price reduction I can get,” said Patrick De Haan, an energy analyst at GasBuddy. “As an analyst, I think it could exacerbate imbalances that could lead to higher prices.”
What is the federal gas tax?
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The federal gas tax, first imposed as a 1 cent per gallon tax in 1932, makes up a portion of the price that drivers see at the pump. The tax gradually increased over the decades after its enactment, reaching its current level of 18.4 cents per gallon in 1993. Since 1997, all revenue from the federal gas tax has gone to the Highway Trust Fund, the major source of federal funding for highways, roads and bridges.
MORE: Why lowering gas prices isn't that simple
The federal gas tax has never been suspended, though a gas tax holiday was proposed by presidential candidates John McCain and Hillary Clinton during the 2008 campaign.
How would a gas tax holiday work?
A federal gas tax holiday, which would require a law passed by Congress and signed by Biden, would suspend the tax for a temporary duration. The proposal put forward by Biden on Wednesday calls for a suspension through September.
A handful of states — led by both Democratic and Republican governors — have suspended their gas taxes as a means of delivering some financial relief for drivers. Biden on Wednesday called on states to suspend their gas taxes if they haven't already.
But the moves only reduce costs by a fraction of the price. In New York, for instance, Gov. Kathy Hochul this month suspended a tax of 16 cents a gallon. With the average price of a gallon of gas in New York standing at $5, according to AAA, the tax relief amounts to a 3.2% cost reduction.
Suspension of the federal gas tax would also reduce the cost of a $5 gallon of gas by less than 5%. Still, consumers would likely prefer some relief to no relief.
"I fully understand that a gas tax holiday alone is not going to fix the problem," Biden said on Wednesday. "But it will provide families some immediate relief, just a little bit of breathing room as we continue working to bring down prices for the long haul."
There are two main potential downsides to a federal gas tax holiday. First, it would deny the federal government a primary source of funding for maintaining roads and highways. U.S. roads received a D grade last year in a report from the American Society of Civil Engineers. Eliminating the federal gas tax would likely leave them even worse off, experts said.
Second, as the U.S. struggles with an imbalance between low oil supply and high demand, a federal gas tax holiday would partially undermine the role that heightened prices play in decreasing consumer demand. In theory, if gas prices remain high or go even higher, people will buy less gas, which should help bring equilibrium between supply and demand, thereby reducing prices.
MORE: Gas prices hit $5 national average after rapid rise
But a gas tax holiday would almost immediately reduce the price, which could increase demand and worsen the supply-demand balance even further, said De Haan, the energy analyst at GasBuddy.
“It would cause a jolt potentially to demand at a time when it is difficult for refiners to keep up with demand now,” he said.
One such law, the Gas Prices Relief Act, has been proposed by Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ). It would eliminate the gas tax through the end of the year, and specifically stipulates that the price savings should be passed along to consumers.
In addition to Kelly, seven senators have backed the bill. So far, no Republican senators have supported it.
