President Biden’s push for a gas tax suspension amid soaring fuel prices is receiving a cool reception among Democrats on Capitol Hill.

Party leadership did not commit to taking up a gas tax moratorium, which requires an act of Congress, and the caucus remains largely divided on the issue. 

But, even if Democrats were unified, pausing the tax would face an uphill battle in the Senate because of Republican opposition. 

America’s hard-pressed drivers may be about to receive a holiday. On Wednesday Joe Biden called on Congress to suspend the federal tax on gas and diesel until September as the country struggles with soaraway costs at the pump. But experts warned the tax holiday is unlikely to have a major impact on prices and will probably further harm the US’s already battered roads and bridges. If the tax cut even gets passed.

Let’s call the roll on President Biden’s ideas to reduce high gasoline prices. He’s tried lobbying the Saudis, to no avail. Releasing oil from the U.S. strategic reserve; the market yawned. Attacking oil and gas companies for not drilling or refining enough, but he also wants to put those companies out of business.

A federal gas tax holiday would aim to lower the cost of filling up your car. But politicians and economists are divided over how much help it would provide. 

President Biden has called for a three-month suspension of the federal gasoline tax, as consumers cope with near record prices at the pump. The tax holiday is intended to provide relief to millions of Americans by temporarily pausing the 18.4-cent tax on every gallon of gasoline. 

President Joe Biden has called on Congress to hit the brakes and provide "big help" to Americans through a federal gas tax holiday for the next three months. But some Democrats, including former president Barack Obama, have expressed the move is merely grasping for an advantage in an election year.

President Biden will on Wednesday call on Congress to suspend the federal gas tax for three months and ask states to suspend their own gas taxes or provide commensurate relief to consumers, according to the White House.

The federal government charges an 18.4-cent tax per gallon of gasoline and a 24.4-cent tax per gallon of diesel. Suspending the tax for three months -- through the end of September, as Biden will call for -- will cost about $10 billion, the White House said.

"President Biden understands that high gas prices pose a significant challenge for working families." So says a White House "fact sheet" released Wednesday morning announcing President Biden's support for a federal and state gas tax holiday.

The White House touts that Biden has "taken action in recent months," releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and "encouraging oil companies and refiners to boost capacity and output to get more supply on the market."