Geithner dodges 'gas tax' question

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner on Sunday seemed to dodge repeated questions about whether the White House is considering a 'gas tax' as one way to pay for its energy reforms.

While "Meet the Press" host David Gregory pressed the issue, Geithner repeated twice it was "not something I can help you on today." He instead repeated the president's case for clean energy reform.

Senate Democrats are reportedly considering a 15-cent increase in the gas tax as part of their cap-and-trade legislation, according to reports. Oil companies seem to be in support of the plan,  mostly because they feel a gas-tax hike would take a far less toll on their profits than other funding proposals Democrats are weighing, The Los Angeles Times reported this week.

Of course, the tax is still a hypothetical at this point. But previous efforts to use a gas tax to close a funding gap in the Transportation budget invoked bipartisan opposition in the House last year.

When House Democrats on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee proposed such an increase in late 2009, vulnerable Blue Dog Democrats balked, putting the party's leadership in a bind. A number of Republicans reacted similarly, and time has unlikely abated their concerns.