President Biden wants to reduce fuel prices by suspending gas taxes, but two Democratic governors oppose taking similar measures in their states.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown argued against pausing the gas tax, claiming it would not be effective.
Brown's office said that it is unlikely that Oregonians would see significant savings at the pump under this latest proposal because of the fact that gas prices have jumped by several dollars per gallon over the last several months.
Inlsee, whose state has the highest gas taxes in the country at 49 cents per gallon, indicated that he was not interested in calling a special legislative session that would be needed to pass legislation putting the tax on hold.
As for the idea of temporarily suspending the state gas tax, the oil companies would be the ones to pocket more profit at the cost of our ability to put people to work on fixing our roads and bridges, a spokesman for Inslee told the Seattle Times.
Washington's Department of Licensing told the Times that a three-month pause of the state's gas tax would cost the state approximately $300 million in revenue.
Gas prices continue to skyrocket, with Washington and Oregon's average prices at $5.52 per gallon on Thursday, compared to a national average of $4.94.
The federal gas tax, which Biden wants Congress to put on hold for three months, is currently 18 cents per gallon.