Six Senate Democrats, four facing re-election this fall, have proposed suspending the federal gas tax until the end of the year.

This is a terrible idea.

Cutting the gas tax will not achieve the goal of immediately decreasing the price of gas at the pump. Of the 113 changes to the gas tax between 2013 and 2018, a study from the Transportation Investment Advocacy Center found that only a third of the time was the change passed on to consumers in the short term. And even then, the changes were short lived, with the impact evaporating quickly over time.

That’s why President Obama called it “a gimmick that would save you half a tank of gas over the course of the entire summer so that everyone in Washington can pat themselves on the back and say they did something.”

The idea is not effective and, since the gas tax is critical to funding public transportation and other critical transportation infrastructure needed to fight climate change, it’s also dangerous.

The problem is in an election year, campaigns know it sounds like a good idea and even good leaders can be pushed to support it. That’s why they need to hear from us.

Sign our petition to Congress: Cutting the Gas Tax is a Gimmick Not a Solution -- Don’t Gut Funding for Public Transit and Infrastructure for Short Term Political Gain!