The White House rejects increasing the gas tax to fund infrastructure, arguing it puts a bigger burden on average Americans

white house press secretary jen psaki — White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
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The White House ruled out a gas tax increase on Monday as bipartisan infrastructure talks gain momentum.
Psaki said the administration is "not going to stand for" any measure boosting taxes for households earning under $400,000.
A Democratic negotiator said it is "clearly off the table" in the negotiations.
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The White House ruled out a gas-tax increase to finance a major infrastructure overhaul, arguing it would violate a central campaign pledge to shield average Americans from any tax hikes.

"An idea that's been floating around that certainly the president would not support is a gas tax which would raise taxes on people making less than $400,000 a year," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told "CBS This Morning" on Monday. "We're just not going to stand for that and we're not going to accept it."

Another key Democratic senator strongly indicated it was no longer in the package. Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado, a Democratic negotiator, said its "clearly off the table" in an MSNBC interview on Monday.

Boosting the gas tax is a step Congress hasn't taken since 1993 and its stood at 18 cents since then. But Republicans and some Democrats eyed indexing it to inflation as a potential revenue source in a bipartisan deal. It could raise $30 billion in new federal money over 10 years.

The negotiations gained momentum earlier this month after additional senators from both parties signed onto a $1 trillion deal centered on core infrastructure like roads and bridges. But sharp disagreements remain on the scope of a package as well as paying for it.

The talks are now in a state of flux - Republicans and Democrats in the bipartisan gang disagreed late last week on whether a gas tax increase was even included in the emerging framework. It still has not been publicly released.

Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, another GOP negotiator, suggested on Sunday the measure could be dropped given the Biden administration's opposition to raising taxes.

Other hurdles remain for the blueprint, which may face significant opposition as its fashioned into a bill. It may lose the vote of some Democrats over the lack of aggressive climate measures contained in the framework.

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont said Sunday he would oppose a plan with regressive "pay-fors" that stepped up taxes on average Americans and not large corporations. He listed a gas tax increase and new fees on electric vehicle drivers, along with privatization of infrastructure spending.

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