White House Considered Sending Americans Gas Cards

By Axios
Posted on 03/19/22 | News Source: Axios

The White House considered giving Americans gas cards to help offset high prices, but faced strong opposition from congressional committees, which questioned the plan's viability and effectiveness.

Why it matters: The Biden administration is feeling political pressure from high energy costs, made worse by Western sanctions against Russia, and Democrats desperately want to offer some kind of policy response.

What we're watching: The White House this week considered having the IRS send gas cards to Americans — a short-lived idea that some key House Democrats vehemently opposed.

• The idea came up as part of a broader package to address gas prices, which is still in its early stages, a senior Democratic aide told Axios.

A House Democratic counsel on Wednesday laid out for the White House a list of reasons why gas cards would be a bad idea, including:

• It would be expensive and poorly targeted.
• It could worsen inflation and wouldn't do much to lower costs.
• Delivering the cards would be a slow process that could bog down the IRS in the middle of the filing season, potentially delaying people's tax returns.