House Scuttles Gas Tax Holiday Proposal

The gas tax holiday backed by Hillary Clinton and John McCain will be DOA in the House, lawmakers have warned, reports the Hill. The measure has been left off House energy proposals that could be tacked onto the Iraq spending bill because "there’s no reason to believe that any moratorium on the gas tax would be passed on to the consumer," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The proposal for a gas tax holiday, opposed by Barack Obama alone among the presidential contenders, has met with fierce criticism from economists, but still enjoys support among some lawmakers from both parties. "Clearly something needs to be done," said one senior Democrat, about record-breaking fuel prices and record-breaking gas company profits. (More gas tax stories.)